The Reading of Sackcloth and Ashes
by pain17ification
Summary: Given a month's rest, Teams RWBY and JNPR are given a book by Prof. Ozpin that he had received from a stranger years ago. With their names having been mentioned within the book, it naturally captures their interest and they agree to read the story of war veteran Naruto Uzumaki and his tales in Remnant. As they read, what will they think of him and his choices? Naruto/Blake pairing
1. Reading Chapter 1

**Hi guys and gals!**

 **So, here I am again with my second attempt at a _Characters Reading_ version of one of my stories. I just want to point out right now, to ANYONE who thinks I'm being narcissistic or self-centered, I'm doing this mainly because I'd like to give it a shot and because no one showed any genuine interest in doing it for me.**

 **I honestly would've asked my friend _Dylan Millwood_ to do it for me, but he's already doing two of my stories for me ( _Kouma_ and _Devilish Maid_ ).**

 **So, let's get started, yeah?**

 **Disclaimer: I, Raymond Smith, own nothing**

* * *

It was another month before the Vytal Festival was set to begin. The city of Vale had been defended just a few days ago thanks to the efforts of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY. Currently though, the first two teams were inside of the office of their school's Headmaster, Ozpin.

"First off, I wanted to thank all of you for your efforts in protecting this city and its citizens from the Grimm," began the Headmaster, earning a few smiles from his students. "Now, I wanted to ask if your teams would be participating in the combat tournament?"

"You bet!" Ruby exclaimed, making her sister and Blake amused at her enthusiasm while Weiss held back a sigh at the immaturity before their Headmaster.

Jaune looked to his teammates and they nodded to him in agreement. "Yes, we will, sir."

"I see. Then allow me to repay you all for your actions by giving you the rest of this month off."

That caught the teenagers all by surprise. "Headmaster," Pyrrha began, "what about our studies? Wouldn't we be missing all of our classes?"

"The way I see it, the eight of you have shown yourselves to be outstanding Huntsmen in training. Therefore, I don't see the harm in letting you all relax before you're thrown back into combat; even if it isn't _true_ combat." He then reached into his desk and pulled out a large book that held a red spiral eclipsing a a golden sun on its cover. "It will also give you all a chance to look this over. You see, I came across this when I encountered an odd individual in our city years ago. When he handed it to me, he only said to _keep it safe_ and give it to _those it concerns_. Through the years, I tried to read it for myself, but only a few words were able to be seen on its pages through my eyes."

"And, those words were…?" Blake pressed when the man gave pause. As a fan of reading, she was already interested.

"They were names; more specifically, _your_ names came up as well," answered the man. "It didn't make sense to me then, but it does now. Somehow, this book holds another manner in how you all have lived your tales, and I believe that the rest of its pages will be made legible if _you_ were the ones to read it."

Yang scratched her head in confusion. "I don't know. Sounds kinda weird to me, sir."

"Yes, I can see why you would feel that way, Miss Xiao-Long. But, I'm not forcing you all to read it." He set the book down on his desk and pushed it towards them. "I'm simply giving you the option to. Take it or not, it does not matter to me. Enjoy your month's rest. You've all earned it."

The two teams regarded one another, wondering if they should take it before Blake decided to take the initiative. Stepping forward, she grabbed the book and held it close before nodding to Ozpin and leaving his office. Her teammates were quick to follow and Team JNPR did the same, leaving Ozpin alone in his office.

Later that day, both teams were seated in the library. They had requested a private room so that they could look over the book for themselves. While Ozpin gave them an odd reason for having it, they couldn't deny that their curiosity was getting the better of them.

"So…who wants to read first?" Nora asked, sitting close to her friend Ren.

"If we're going to read this, I'd suggest that we keep an open mind about everything," the pink-eyed male suggested. "After all, it is simply a book that the Headmaster said had our names in it. It doesn't mean that what's in there is real or is set to happen without fail."

The others nodded in agreement to his words. "I suppose I'll read first," Blake suggested. "I don't mind seeing what's in here."

"Alright then. Go ahead and start us off, partner," Yang stated as she got comfortable in her seat, prompting the others to do the same.

"Okay. The story is called _Sackcloth and Ashes_ … And it's written by someone named _Smith_."

"Smith…?" Jaune asked, deadpanning at the simple name.

"It's a common name, so it'd be easy to keep themselves anonymous," Weiss deduced. "What I'm curious about is its title."

"Well, from what I've read, it's an old form of atonement," Ren explained. "It's also associated with mourning."

"That sounds…really messed up for a title," Yang commented.

"Who would be sad enough to have a story centered around mourning?" Ruby asked, looked down.

"We won't know until we read it for ourselves," Blake declared before she returned her attention to the book. " _Chapter One: The Exile_ …"

The book flashed brightly before the large screen hanging on one of the walls came to life and displayed the book's title and first chapter's name.

"…Okay, that's awesome," Yang noted with a grin.

"So, we get to watch as it's read? Sweet!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

"Nora," Pyrrha cut in calmly. "Perhaps we should let Blake continue?"

The hammer wielding teen rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and nodded, allowing for Blake to start the story.

* * *

 **"In other news, Huntsmen Scouts have returned from their recent excursion of the strange meteor impact last night and have submitted their reports to the higher authorities. Apparently, the failed attempt of Vale's expansion, Mountain Glenn, has seen a dramatic increase in Grimm activity within hours after the impact."**

 **A woman, dressed in dark red with amber highlights to her dress, was tempted to roll her equally amber eyes at the obvious outcome of the failed expansion. She raised her cup of warm coffee to her lips and took a sip, but she had to bring it away when she heard the next part of the report.**

* * *

"Okay…? Who the hell is that?" Yang asked, raising a brow at the woman onscreen.

"I'm getting a strange vibe from her," Jaune noted.

"Me too," Ruby agreed. "It's like…she's planning something."

* * *

 **"However, last evening's unexpected phenomenon is curiously making the Grimm, according to the Scouts, act in a strangely docile behavior. Even more concerning is how the reports state that they seem to be guarding something within the ruined city; most likely what had caused that impact yesterday. According to authorities, they plan to make another excursion with more seasoned Huntsmen soon, but it won't be for some time."**

* * *

"Has anyone ever heard of anything like that?" Weiss asked.

"No, never," Pyrrha answered. "Grimm have always been aggressive around others except for their own kind. Even the older Grimm aren't docile."

"So then, what could make them act like that?" Ren asked aloud, hand cupping his chin.

* * *

 **The woman used a remote to shut off the newscast before leaning back in her seat, eyes closed as she hummed thoughtfully. For as long as anyone in Remnant could remember, the creatures of the Grimm have always been a dangerous sort, targeting anything created by man and anyone who exuded some form of negativity. For them to act docile and protective meant that whatever had crashed down on that failed expansion must've been incredibly "pure" to the point of the Grimm viewing it as worth such guardianship.**

 **"Still though, it is strange that they would want to protect it," the woman murmured aloud, still deep in thought. "What could they be guarding?"**

* * *

"It's gotta be something important to them, or something," Ruby guessed.

* * *

 **A knock at her door roused her from her thoughts and she allowed the knocker to enter. Stepping into her room was a darker skinned woman with minty green hair and red eyes. She was dressed in an intricate white top that had an olive undershirt and white pants with dark brown chaps. Her hair was cut short save for two long locks in the back that reached her lower back.**

 **"Emerald," greeted the woman in red. "What is it?"**

 **"I just saw an interesting newscast," answered the red-eyed girl, taking a seat across from her boss. Seeing the woman's look, Emerald continued, "I figured you saw it as well. Should we go investigate? Something like this is just…bizarre."**

 **"True, occurrences like this are definitely far from the norm," agreed the woman, her amber eyes glowing for a split second. "I'm still debating whether or not we go and check it out. While I had plans to use Mountain Glenn, it's still a major hotspot for the Grimm; even if they're reportedly docile."**

 **Emerald nodded in understanding. "So…keep the group small then?"**

 **Amber eyes gleamed in approval. "That's what I was thinking. The two of us, plus Neo and Mercury will investigate. Roman will focus on gathering more Dust while Adam and his partner have plans to _liberate_ a Schnee train."**

* * *

Blake cringed at that, sending Weiss an apologetic look. "I…"

"Don't," cut off the heiress. "That was your old life. While I'm not happy about it, I promised that I'd give you a chance."

The Faunus girl nodded and gave a grateful look before continuing.

* * *

 **Nodding once again, the pickpocket stood up and headed for the door. "I'll go tell the others then."**

 **"Meet at the bullhead. You all have a half hour."**

 **"Yes, ma'am."**

* * *

 **Soft breathing could be heard within a small cave-in on a mountainside. The breaths were soft enough to make one think the owner was sleeping, but they were in fact wide awake and staring at a small fire with empty blue eyes. The light of the fire gave some luminance to the figure, but it was only good enough to show a man that looked like he had just stepped out of hell itself.**

 **His blonde hair seemed to droop in response to his depressing aura while his clothes, once a bright example of his personality, were torn, burnt, and cut into. The black and orange jacket was so damaged that it only had the left sleeve and upper back intact. Orange pants were sliced and torn in various places while the black sandals with protective padding looked ready to fall apart. Because the jacket had been so damaged, the young man's mesh undershirt was visible to the world and was more intact than the rest of his clothing.**

* * *

"Dear Oum…" Pyrrha gasped out, covering her mouth with a hand at the damaged man onscreen.

* * *

 **To finish off his illuminated appearance were three things. The first were his birthmarks that were as visible as ever on his face in the form of three lines on each cheek; the lines themselves reminiscent of whiskers. Resting in his lap was a metal plate with a spiral symbol that had an arrow tip and thin tail; a leaf. The black cloth was just as damaged as the rest of his clothes and the metal plate had suffered some denting, scratches, and scuffing.**

* * *

"I wonder what his insignia means," Ren mused. "Some mercenaries have personal signs that let people know who they are."

* * *

 **The final thing that was highlighted in the flame was the drying patch of blood directly beneath where his right arm should've been. The arm itself was missing from the elbow down, and the wound looked downright grizzly with blood caking it and scorch markings along the edges; showing that what had cut it off also slightly cauterized it.**

* * *

"His… His arm…" choked out Ruby, unable to look away from how awful it looked at its stumped end.

"Damn," whispered Yang. "What could've done that?"

"I'd rather not know," Jaune commented, finding it hard not to imagine how painful it would be to lose a limb.

* * *

 **His breathing remained soft as he kept staring at the flames before him. Blue eyes that portrayed emptiness were in fact staring searchingly into the flames, as if hoping to discover something. In his depressed state, he saw faces of familiar people in the fire; people he had lost, people he had cherished…people he had failed.**

* * *

"And that's where the title comes in," Blake noted before quickly resuming.

* * *

 **The man was Naruto Uzumaki, a man who had been displaced from his home to a place and time unknown to him. He and his comrades had just finished sealing the Mother of All Chakra, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, for the second time in the woman's life. The end of the Fourth Great Ninja War looked to be within reach…but it was then pulled away from their grasp when Naruto's estranged friend, Sasuke Uchiha, decided to try and revolutionize the Shinobi World by killing the village leaders; the Five Kage.**

 **Because Sasuke was needed to help Naruto free the world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Uzumaki had no choice but to chase down the Uchiha and face him once more; but this time it was to be their final battle. Sasuke, holder of the Sage of Six Paths' Yin Mark, had to be stopped and Naruto planned to use everything – including his gifted Yang Mark – to do so.**

* * *

"Hehe… I always knew I was marked for greatness," joked Yang, making her teammates groan at the horrible pun.

* * *

 **Unlike their previous clashes, this one proved to be far more destructive, each deadlock changing the very landscape of their battlefield. It had evolved from a clash between rivals to a battle of gods if one were to witness the fight.**

 **As the fight drew to a close, Sasuke called on the last of his Yin Chakra while Naruto had the half of the Kyuubi, Kurama, that he carried help him strengthen his weakening Yang Chakra. Darkness and Light gathered their power, raising it to the highest points before their avatars charged for one final impact; one last clash to end it all.**

 **And it did end…but it was not in the way one would hope.**

 **Light did not conquer Darkness that day. Instead, the warring philosophies, the two ends of the Spectrum of Balance, ended up backfiring on their avatars in their impact. While Sasuke had been blown back by the backlash, Naruto had been forced into a rip in space and time just moments after witnessing his right arm and Sasuke's left arm get destroyed in their clash.**

* * *

"Space and time?" Jaune asked.

"It's been a subject of discussion and controversy for decades, maybe even centuries," Weiss explained. "Some people think that, if one broke the fabric of space and time, then they could go to another world or even to the past or future. Of course, no one has been able to prove that theory to be possible."

"It's also a method of fantasy in lots of literature," Blake added, having read a few books that had space-time in them.

* * *

 **Thrown into the rip, and too weak to fight it, Naruto found himself flung through a void of distorted colors that soon began to merge into a swirl of Darkness and Light. Kurama, having bonded with Naruto and seeing him as an invaluable partner and friend, gave up the last of its chakra – its very core – to prevent Naruto from being ripped apart in the void.**

 **The last thing Naruto saw of his partner was the vulpine grin that he had become so accustomed to fading away from his seal before he lost consciousness.**

* * *

"So, did anyone understand all that stuff earlier about _chakra_ and whatnot?" Nora asked, earning negative responses from her friends. "Good! Because I didn't either, and I didn't want to have to pretend I did!"

That caused the others to share a small laugh, which she immediately joined in on since she had made the joke.

* * *

 **He woke up in a ruined and abandoned city the day before, having just recently moved into the cave-in he resided in at the moment. He had spent the first day laying in the crater his impact made, still too weak at the time to do anything else. Strangely though, he had been visited by odd black creatures that had bone white masks on their faces.**

* * *

"The Grimm…" the teens said in sync.

* * *

 **The creatures themselves took the form of animals, and he had mainly seen wolfish versions of them checking him out.**

 **The weirdest part though was how they seemed to completely disregard him as any sort of threat. Part of him figured it was because he looked so wounded and weak, but another part felt that something else was at play. However, instead of viewing him as a threat, they looked almost…protective of his presence; as if they wished to shield him from further harm.**

* * *

"So, does that mean that he's the reason they were acting so calm in that newscast?" Jaune asked.

"Most likely," Ren answered.

* * *

 **Once he had recovered enough strength, he forced himself to his feet and found his current residence before gathering the wood for his now dying fire. Within the dwindling flames, he saw the last group of faces that belonged to everyone he had failed to save. These faces consisted of his brother in pain, Gaara; the young woman who had declared her love for him, Hinata Hyuuga; his silver haired teacher, Kakashi Hatake; and finally his pinkette teammate who he had promised to bring Sasuke back to, Sakura Haruno.**

* * *

The eight teens were given glimpses of the people mentioned. The saw a young man with red hair and green eyes, a beautiful young woman with violet hair and pale lavender eyes full of affection, a silver haired man who only had his right eye visible, and a pink haired young woman with bright green eyes.

"These must have been some of the more important people in his life," Pyrrha noted. "And he feels like he…failed them."

Yang saw the defeat in her fellow blonde's eyes, and it felt wrong seeing it on his face; even if he was just a character in a story. _'Why does it feel like he should be a carefree goof?'_

* * *

 **Deep inside of his dead eyes, tears formed and rolled down his cheeks before his eyes clenched shut and he curled into himself. Through his choked sobs, the exiled shinobi whispered apology after apology to the dying fire as it slowly whittled away to mere embers.**

* * *

Sympathy and pity reigned supreme in the private room, leaving the two teams of teenagers unable to comment.

* * *

 **From the bullhead that had landed a fair distance away from the abandoned city, four people stepped out. The first was Emerald Sustrai who was accompanied by her partner. Said partner wore a slate gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket that covered his upper body, a single notched belt with a bandana marked with his personal emblem draped over it, and a pair of matching colored pants with black boots. The young man was named Mercury Black.**

* * *

"Guy looks a little too cocky for my tastes," Yang commented.

"And you're not?" teased Ruby.

"Nope! I'm _confident_ ; not cocky! Can't be that way if you don't have-"

"Okay!" cut off Weiss, blushing at the obvious direction Yang was taking that joke. "Can we move one, please?!"

* * *

 **Third to step off of the bullhead was a rather short girl who had an intricately designed umbrella lazily hanging over her shoulder and open, covering her from the afternoon sunlight. The girl wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket was a black corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom which exposed her hips. She also wore a multitude of necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck. Her hair was uniquely colored half pink and half brown, with white streaks in the pink half while her eyes were two separate colors; brown coloring the left and pink filling the right. She was known simply as Neopolitan; Neo for short.**

* * *

"…Anyone else craving ice cream right now?" Ruby asked shyly, blushing slightly. To her surprise and relief, the others nodded in agreement; though she figured they were simply being nice for her sake.

Still, she appreciated it, nonetheless.

* * *

 **Lastly was their boss, who was still dressed in her regular attire. Said attire consisted of a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, V-neck mini-dress with yellow designs. There was a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress and the dress itself ended in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees. There was also a baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the dress' upper back at the same height as her chest. The sleeves ended in a triangle shape, which are wrapped or tied around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. Underneath the dress, she wore black shorts and her accessories consisted of a gold loop earring with a black gem dangling from it on her right ear, dark glass high-heeled shoes, and a jeweled anklet on her right leg. Finishing off her look was a symbol on her upper back, in the keyhole of her dress. It looked to be a black tattoo of a pair of high heel shoes placed sole to sole, both forming a combined heart shape inside.**

* * *

"Talk about _femme fatale_ ," Yang said when they all got their first real look at the woman from before.

* * *

 **She was Cinder Fall, and she stared down at the ruined city with a small smirk as her amber eyes gave off a slight glow. "Well then, shall we get moving?" she suggested before taking point.**

 **"Whatever you say, boss," Mercury replied as he followed her.**

 **Emerald gave him a look at the slightly disrespectful tone, but she still answered her boss. "Yes, ma'am."**

* * *

"Someone's devoted," Weiss commented. "It's like she hangs off of everything this Cinder woman says."

"We don't know what led her to that level of devotion," Blake commented, frowning slightly. "Many of the Faunus in the White Fang were devoted simply because they were given a real chance; even if it meant doing cruel things."

The others were silent at that, unable to deny the truth in that statement.

* * *

 **Neo simply smirked in response. She never spoke and the others assumed she was mute; even though Cinder knew better. She was fine with the short girl staying silent, so long as she remained a loyal and effective asset to her cause.**

 **It took some time to reach the city, and the group of four had to handle some rather aggressive Grimm that attacked in packs. Most of them were of the Beowolf class, but there were a couple of Ursa class Grimm amongst them. It soon got to the point where Cinder wasted no time and used her Semblance to set them on fire whenever they made their presences known.**

* * *

"Torching Grimm left and right… That is so hacks!" Ruby complained.

"I know, right?!" Yang agreed, and both sister pouted so similarly that the others couldn't hold back their amusement.

* * *

 **"What the hell could they be so hyped up about?" Mercury asked as the group walked through the city's center.**

 **"Didn't you watch that newscast earlier?" Emerald asked him in response, earning a deadpan look from him. "Oh right, you're too good for news. Forgot about that."**

 **Before Mercury could retort, Cinder spoke up. "The Huntsmen Scouts returned last night to Vale and they said that the Grimm are acting rather protective of whatever crashed into this place sometime ago. With no one else in the area, they also showed a strangely docile behavior, but obviously they're far more aggressive to anyone who shows up."**

 **Neo listened to them in silence before her eyes turned to the mountainside. Her brows furrowed and she blinked, having both of her irises change to a bright pink as she searched for something. When she found it, she saw that it was a very faint light that was flickering from what looked to be a hole in the cliffs. Blinking again, her eyes returned to their previous coloration before she tapped Cinder's arm.**

* * *

"I wonder what the changes in her eye colors represent," Pyrrha mused aloud, honestly curious about it.

"Me too," Ruby agreed. "I wonder if I can change my eye color too."

"Don't try it," deadpanned her three teammates, making her pout again.

* * *

 **"Yes, Neo?" asked the woman before her attention was directed to the cliffs by the ice cream themed girl. "You saw something, did you?" At Neo's nod, the group changed direction for the mountain. As they got closer, Cinder saw the dying light that Neo had seen earlier and smirked. "It appears that we're not the only ones here with these Grimm."**

* * *

"Oh no! They found Naruto!" Ruby cried.

"Relax, sis. It's just a story."

"But…"

"Besides, maybe they wanna help the poor guy out?" suggested the blonde young woman, making Ruby blink.

"…I didn't think about that."

* * *

 **"A straggler maybe?" Emerald guessed.**

 **Mercury frowned. "That'd make sense, but why would they stay so close to these Grimm? And why haven't the Grimm hunted them down yet?"**

 **Cinder resumed walking as she asked, "We won't know until we see them for ourselves now, will we?"**

 **With that, the four carefully moved up the slope before they reached the entrance of the cave-in. What was interesting about it was how the walls looked like they had been bored into by a drilling force; but there weren't any tools or equipment in the area or even in the city. Looking further in, they saw that a small fire had been reduced to embers while a shadowed figure was curled into themselves against the rocky wall.**

 **Producing a small flame to act as a torch, Cinder had it light up the cave so that they could get a better look at the figure. What they saw was a blonde young man, around their age at the least, curled up with his back to them. They saw that he wore predominantly orange and black clothes that were heavily damaged and worn out while a red spiraling symbol rested proudly on the back of his jacket. There was also a puddle of dried blood next to him; obviously from his injuries.**

* * *

"I'll never get the image of his severed arm out of my mind," Pyrrha stated sadly, looking to the dried blood onscreen.

* * *

 **"…go away…" they heard a broken voice almost whisper to them from the now illuminated darkness. "…please, just leave me alone…"**

 **Emerald and Mercury tensed themselves in preparation to act, but Cinder raised her free hand to stop them. Meanwhile, Neo boldly walked over to the huddled man, using her now closed umbrella to prod him. After a few moments of just poking him, she stopped and turned to Cinder with a shrug.**

* * *

"Brave little thing, isn't she?" Weiss noted.

"You're not much taller than her, Short Stuff," teased Yang, being the tallest in Team RWBY.

"W-What?!" Weiss exclaimed, red in the face. She was cut off when Blake decided to move things along.

* * *

 **"Are you one of the Huntsmen that were scouting this area?" Cinder asked, not wasting any time.**

 **"…"**

 **His silence was her answer, which made her slender brows crease. She was not one to be ignored.**

 **Stepping over to him, she moved around his huddled form and got a better look at his face. She saw his whisker marked cheeks, scuffed face, and empty blue eyes and she was able to personally confirm that he was emotionally broken; or at least very close to it. He looked like a man who had lost everything important to him, which meant that he no longer had anything to live for.**

 **Her frown strangely softened at that, and it made her curious. Why did she feel a faint sense of pity for this man; a man that she had never once met or should even be concerned about? She gave a sideways glance to Neo, and her eyes were both a pale white which was rare to see on her face.**

* * *

"Another color change," Pyrrha noted, pulling out a paper and pencil to write down the three colors, and all of the combinations they had.

"And you call me obsessive, Ren," Nora said with a short laugh while Ren sighed.

* * *

 **Turning back to the blonde, she crouched down, absently noting the worn headband with the metal plate lying beside him. "What's your name?"**

 **"…Naruto," he murmured, eyes unfocused as he just stared at the wall in front of him. "Naruto Uzumaki…"**

 **His name was rather odd to her, but she didn't comment on that. There was no need to at any rate since it wouldn't do anything for her. "You have the look of a man without a purpose. Why is that, Naruto?" she asked, mixing in some false sympathy in her tone. She was, after all, a mistress of manipulation, and this man looked so tempting to be manipulated.**

* * *

"Aha! See?! She isn't gonna help him; she's gonna use him!" Ruby declared before glaring at the image of Cinder. "Stay away from him!"

The others, even Nora, sweatdropped at how into the story the youngest of the group was.

* * *

 **"…"**

 **He was once again silent, but his eyes finally were pulled away from the wall when Neo moved over and grabbed the headband. She studied it for a moment before it was taken from her.**

 **"Don't touch that," he said in a slightly stronger voice, much to Cinder's curiosity; though it was still incredibly broken.**

 **"That must be very important to you. Is it related to your loss of purpose?" Cinder queried, hoping to take advantage of his brief emotional spark of life.**

 **"…it's a symbol of my failure," he answered, his voice once again growing weaker. "I used to wear it proudly…but now I don't deserve it…"**

* * *

"So, the others from before," Ren noted. "The people he saw in the fire… They must have worn similar headbands or markings as him."

* * *

 **Cinder briefly glanced at Emerald and Mercury, giving them a silent message to stand watch at the entrance while Neo took a seat in front of the blonde man. "Why do you feel that way, Naruto?" asked the amber-eyed woman, her tone deceptively soft.**

 **"…because I failed them…"**

 **"Who did you fail?" she pressed, reaching over to place her delicate hand on his shoulder. She had him talking, so now she just needed to press on.**

 **"Everyone," he answered, eyes closing as a tear escaped. "I couldn't stop him…and they…" He trembled as he fought more tears.**

 **She frowned at the vague answer. "Who couldn't you stop?"**

 **Slowly, his eyes opened, and she saw life in them again; though it was an angry and betrayed source of life. "Sasuke…" he almost growled out. "He was supposed to help them… And I couldn't… I couldn't stop him…" The life began to die again. "They couldn't be saved… I failed them…"**

* * *

"He sounds so…" Weiss began to say, but couldn't find the word.

"Defeated," Pyrrha and Blake finished for her at the same time. The two looked at one another, surprised at the similar responses they gave.

* * *

 **Getting the gist of it, Cinder kept her hand on his shoulder to show a sense of sympathetic support. Mentally though, she was going over what she figured out. Apparently, Naruto and this Sasuke person were meant to help an unknown group of people, but Sasuke refused to do so. Based on what Naruto said, he was unable to help them on his own and tried to stop Sasuke from leaving in some manner; but he failed to do so and the unknown group of people were unable to be saved as a consequence of that failure. Those people he failed were more than likely his purpose for living; people he cared for greatly. And now that he lost them, he no longer had anything to live for.**

 **While tragic, it was still an opportunity for Cinder to take advantage of. The Grimm in this area were ignoring this man who had an incredible amount of negativity coming from him, which meant that he was practically invisible to them or seen as unthreatening. She could use that to her advantage in more Grimm infested locales.**

 **All she had to do was convince Naruto to have a new purpose.**

* * *

"Manipulative bitch, isn't she?" Yang asked, glaring at Cinder's image with now red eyes and ignoring her sister's shocked look at her language.

Hey, she couldn't help but feel for the blonde guy in the story. He lost everything, and he didn't need someone to use him when he only wanted to mourn.

* * *

 **Looking down at him, she focused on his missing arm. More than likely, he lost it while trying to stop whoever Sasuke was, which added onto that feeling of betrayal and failure. It would be easy to get him a replacement; but the problem there is getting him to want a replacement in the first place. Some veterans refused such prosthetics and lived the remainder of their lives proudly without them; seeing them as a crutch or a sign of weakness.**

 **She'd have to try and get him to see that it wasn't a weakness when offering the replacement to him. But for now, she needed to get him out of his broken depression; a task that was much easier said than done. Whoever this man – she couldn't call him a child, even if he was still a teenager – was, he was an obvious soldier. Some soldiers never recovered after becoming so broken; so she had her work cut out for her.**

 **Absently, she saw that Neo had also taken a slight interest in the blonde man. Her eyes were still that pale white and she had a hand rested on his head. A brow rose when she saw Neo gently run her hand through his hair, which made a small spark of life return to his eyes. Curious…**

* * *

"It really is," Weiss said, agreeing with the story. "Why would simply rubbing him on the head bring some life back into him? It doesn't make sense…"

Blake frowned in thought, a possible answer coming to mind that she didn't want to say. She just hoped that she was wrong with her guess.

It was hard watching someone who was desperate for _any_ kind of attention; even from cruel sources.

* * *

 **Standing up, Cinder spoke up, "Neo, we're leaving." The petite girl looked to her briefly before turn back to Naruto with a faint smirk. After she patted his head and made her way to the entrance, Cinder directed her voice to Naruto. "We'll be in the city until the morning, Naruto. If you want, we could offer you a purpose once more; but the choice is yours." Turning around, she made sure her voice was soft and sympathetic as she added, "Think about it…"**

 **With her piece said, and her smirk hidden from his view, she made her way out of his personally made cave, leaving the broken man to his thoughts.**

* * *

"I usually like to give people the benefit of the doubt," Pyrrha began with a frown, "but I don't like that woman. She's…cruel."

"Yeah, she is," Blake agreed, comparing Cinder and Naruto to Adam and herself.

* * *

 **"Do you think he'll come, Cinder?" asked Emerald as she sat on her bedroll. It was a few hours past midnight and the group was staying in a ruined, yet still stable, building close to Naruto's cave. "He seemed really depressed."**

 **"Depression could be a great motivator," answered Cinder, smirking as she read from a worn out book she had found in the building. It was a simple fantasy novel, but it helped to pass time. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing Mr. Uzumaki before we leave."**

 **"And…if we don't?" Mercury asked in response, dragging out the first word of his question.**

 **"If we don't, then we continue as planned. After all, there isn't anything a man that broken could do to stop us." Looking up from her book, she saw Neo seated on some rubble, staring out of the broken window and towards the blonde's cave. "See anything, Neo?" The girl turned to Cinder and shook her head. "Keep a lookout, then."**

* * *

"I hope he stays away," Ruby commented.

"He won't," Ren shot down, making the rose-themed girl turn to him. "He's lost and someone is offering him some comfort; even if it's not genuine. The temptation will be too great for him to ignore."

"Oh…" She looked sad at that, worried for Naruto even though she knew he was just a storybook character.

* * *

 **Mercury raised a curious brow. "You seem to be really interested in this guy, boss. Any reason why?"**

 **Cinder regarded him, smirk still in place and her eyes glowing faintly. "There's something rather…peculiar about him that I find myself drawn to. If you think about it, the Grimm seem to be uncaring or even unaware of his presence; even through the obvious deluge of negativity coming from him. We could use that to our advantage when we move to more infested areas."**

 **Emerald nodded in understanding while Mercury hummed thoughtfully. "I'm guessing you had plans already for tackling those places before we even met this guy?" Cinder nodded in response. "What's the real endgame you're going for, anyway?"**

 **"You already know the answer to that," Cinder said dismissively.**

 **"I know what you told me; not what you actually have planned," he shot back.**

 **"Merc!" scolded Emerald. "Why are you questioning her when she hasn't done anything to make us mistrust her?"**

 **"Because I like to know what I'm going for before I do anything so risky!"**

 **"This coming from the man who killed his assassin of a father?" fired back Emerald, making Mercury growl.**

* * *

"Damn! Tell him, girl!" cheered Yang, enjoying the hostile byplay between the two.

Hey, they were obvious bad guys. She could enjoy seeing them at each other's throats.

* * *

 **Cinder was about to step in, but a new voice caught her by surprise. "…Did I come at a bad time?"**

* * *

"Naruto, no!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I told you," Ren stated, though he looked unhappy at being correct.

* * *

 **The four others all turned at once, seeing Naruto standing in the doorway of the large room they were staying in. His eyes looked tired and unsure, but Cinder still gave a smirk at seeing him. "Not at all, Naruto. Please, have a seat," she assured before offering him an old crate to sit on. Hesitantly, he took it and faced her, and she saw that he still had empty eyes, but they also held a level of anxiety in them.**

 **Unknown to the four, due to leaving Naruto alone hours before, the Uzumaki had spent the time in resumed solitude thinking over his options; however limited they were. He was in an unknown place, and full of people who lacked chakra from what he could sense due to his years of training. He needed answers and, more importantly, he needed to see if there were ways for him to attempt a return trip back home.**

 **So, with those needs in mind, he decided to take the offer from the woman in red. However, that didn't mean he planned on being tricked into doing something he didn't want to.**

* * *

"Wait… So, he's _aware_ that she plans to use him," Weiss began before yelling out the rest, "and he came to her anyway?!"

"Smart move," Blake praised, making the others turn to her. "If he's already aware that she's trying to use him, he could use that against her and turn the table on her; using _her_ instead." She smirked at Naruto's image. " _Shinobi_ is another word for _ninja_ ; the masters of deception. He's doing them proud."

Yang nudged her with waggling brows. "Sounds like Kitten likes Whiskers."

Her brow and cat ears twitched at that. "…Don't call me _Kitten_ …"

"Not even gonna deny liking him then?" Yang teased again.

"…Shut up, Yang," Blake finally said with her cheeks dusted pink as she resumed reading.

* * *

 **Smiling, the woman started to speak. "I apologize for being rude earlier. You gave us your name, but we never gave you ours in return. My associates are Emerald Sustrai," he was waved at politely by her, "Mercury Black," he was given a short nod, "and Neopolitan, though we just call her Neo." She smirked at him, both eyes turning a bright pink. "As for myself, my name is Cinder Fall."**

 **"Uh… Nice to meet you all, I guess," he replied, still feeling a bit awkward. "So…you said you could help me out." Cinder nodded in response. "How?"**

 **"You lack a purpose, a reason to keep going, yes?" He nodded hesitantly. "I could give one to you. I could help you find something new to fight for, and all I would ask in return is that you help me with my own goals."**

 **"And those goals are?"**

 **Her smirk grew as she reached a hand over and patted his cheek in amusement. "You don't expect me to just reveal everything to you, do you?"**

 **He felt something…strange when she made physical contact with him. It was surprisingly a good strange though, but it just made him more confused.**

* * *

"She's playing a dangerous game…and so is he," Blake said with a frown.

* * *

 **"No, I guess not… Then what would I be helping you with?"**

 **She removed her hand and leaned back in her seat, and he frowned when the warmth he felt left him. She seemed to notice this, for her eyes glowed faintly for a moment. "The Grimm seem to disregard you entirely, whether it's because they find you unthreatening or something else remains to be seen. My goals involve journeying to areas that are constantly visited by Grimm; some even being classified as infested."**

 **"Grimm?" he asked, raising a brow. "What are Grimm?"**

 **The others looked surprised at the total sincerity of his confusion.**

* * *

"I would too if I didn't already know he was from a different world or time," Pyrrha admitted sheepishly, and the others agreed with her since the Grimm were common knowledge throughout the world of Remnant.

* * *

 **"You've never heard of Grimm? Y'know, those black creatures with glowing red eyes and white masks and stuff on them?" Emerald asked incredulously.**

 **"Oh, that's what they're called? They came up to me after I crashed into this place, but they didn't attack me."**

 **"They instead acted protective of you, right?" guessed Cinder, earning a confused nod. Her smirk returned. "Interesting… This means that the Grimm see you as something important and they naturally try to protect you from outside _threats_." She used air quotes for threats. "This makes you even more helpful to my goals."**

 **He frowned at her, showing skepticism. "What would you have me do in these Grimm covered places? And what if whatever is happening between me and them suddenly runs out?"**

 **"To answer your second question, I already had a different plan in place; just in case you didn't show up. If the Grimm start treating you like the rest of us, then I'll just go back to my original plans." She barely caught his wince, which made her mentally grin. On the outside, she reached over and patted his crippled arm gently. "Don't think that's all I wanted to ask your help for. It's my hope that you come to view us as…partners of sorts. We look after our own, and maybe you can become one of our own after some time." Her mental grin grew when she saw him looking away, averting his gaze from hers. She was wearing him down.**

* * *

"Damn… She's good," Yang couldn't help but praise, even if she didn't like it.

* * *

 **"We could all watch each other's backs and keep each other safe. I will never betray you, Naruto. You have my word."**

 **Moving her hand up, she placed it on his cheek and gently guided his gaze back to her own, making his blue orbs lock onto her amber ones. She gave him a smile and saw his resistance wearing down even further. A part of her wondered if he would deny her when he closed his eyes, hiding them from her own.**

 **"…You promise?" he asked softly, trying to hide his anxiety.**

* * *

"He's losing the fight," Pyrrha said, feeling concerned for Naruto.

"It's only the first of many," Blake retorted, still confident in the whiskered blonde.

* * *

 **Because he kept his eyes closed, he missed her eyes glow fully, showing her pleasure at winning him over. She gently rubbed her hand across his cheek, smile remaining as she answered, "I promise you, Naruto."**

 **Her eyes lost their glow just in time as he opened his eyes. Locking them on hers for a few more moments, her smile grew when she saw him nod slowly. "…Alright then," he said. "I'll help you out, but only if you help me in return."**

 **"Of course," she said assuringly, removing her hand from his face. "If it is within my power, then I'll do all I can to help you." She then stretched out her left arm, seeing as it was his sole arm at the present time. "Partners?"**

 **He kept his gaze on her delicate hand while the others watched in silence. Emerald was hoping that her mistress's efforts wouldn't be wasted, and she kept herself tense in case the blonde denied her. Mercury just watched with an outward look of boredom while inwardly he wondered just what made the Uzumaki so worth Cinder's attention and interest. As for Neo, she kept her pink eyes locked on Naruto's. Ever since she had set her sights on his emotionally hurt, blue orbs, she felt herself drawn to them, and she wanted to know why.**

* * *

"Ooh! Sounds like Lil Ice Cream's got a crush!" Yang noted, grinning widely. In the corner of her eye, she saw Blake and, surprisingly, Pyrrha furrow their brows faintly at that. _'Oho! And she's not the only one!'_

* * *

 **Why did she feel a kinship to this man? Why did his pain call out to her own? Why did she feel this…desire to be closer to him?**

 **Sighing, Naruto finally reached his arm over and shook hands with Cinder, making her smirk. "Partners…" he agreed before his thoughts turned inward. _'Everyone…I swear I'll try to get back home. Just please…hold on a little while longer.'_**

* * *

"Don't give up on them, Naruto!" cheered Ruby.

"Yeah!" Nora added on. "You can do it!"

Weiss palmed her face and groaned. _'I am surrounded by children_ …'

* * *

 **"W-What is this…?" a certain Uchiha gasped out in shock as the moon that held Kaguya started to crack. As it did, an immense pressure was felt throughout the world as storm clouds as dark as oblivion began forming. The moon kept cracking as more and more clouds formed before, with a massive shockwave, a part of the moon shattered and unleashed an invisible force of deep negativity upon the world.**

* * *

"T-That's our…!" Jaune began to say before Ren finished for him.

"Moon…" he whispered in shock.

* * *

 **As it floated above in the night sky, its broken pieces being held close by because of the moon's gravity, the clouds began to rain thick, black globs. The black raindrops, once making impact with the earth, began to rise up and take the shape of black furred/skinned animals with menacing red eyes and bone white masks on their faces.**

* * *

"The Grimm!" Ruby exclaimed, shock practically oozing from her.

* * *

 **From the biggest source of _rainfall_ , the drops began to merge and grow before, with a roar that echoed across the country, a fierce dragon rose up from the darkness.**

* * *

"…I wouldn't want to be in the way of _that_ thing," Yang declared. "Any of you guys feel up to it?"

"No," was the unanimous reply.

"Good. Didn't want to be the only one."

* * *

 **Falling to his knees, Sasuke Uchiha knew he was still too weak to do anything as the dragon set its sights on his form. Never before had he felt his situation be so…grim. Before he became consumed by the dark beast, he only had one thought echo across his mind.**

 ** _'Naruto… Forgive me…'_**

"You don't deserve his forgiveness," Blake practically hissed out as she marked the page and closed the book. "That's the first chapter."

"I have to say, I wasn't sure about reading this book at first," Weiss noted. "But now, I'm anxious to see what's next. Why don't we pick this up tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me," Jaune agreed. "We can use the morning with our teams before meeting here to cool down and continue the book."

"Alright!" exclaimed Ruby, smiling brightly. "We'll meet back here tomorrow!"

* * *

 **Tada! First _Reading_ chapter done!**

 **So, how'd I do, guys? Were the comments made by the Readers believable? I need feedback on this so that I can improve for the next chapter!**

 **Also, I need help finding a way to bring Naruto _himself_ into this story so that he could read the book with the others. Any suggestions for _how_ I can do that would be greatly appreciated!**

 **As always, please review but PLEASE don't flame me. I promise you all, I'm not trying to be narcissistic, self-centered, or anything of a similar nature. I just want to try my hand at a _Characters Reading_ story and felt most comfortable using one of my own to do so. I hope you all can understand and not judge me on it.**

 **One last thing before I sign off, I made hints that I'd like to try either Naruto/Blake or Naruto/Pyrrha for this. If you'd like to see one of them, or if you think this story should NOT have a pairing, please let me know in your reviews or in a PM. Thank you all for your time.**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


	2. Reading Chapter 2

**Chapter Two of the Reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I, Raymond Smith, own nothing**

* * *

Ozpin's eyes were narrowed slightly at the glowing spiral marking on the book he had offered to the two teams the other day. To keep it safe, Blake had asked the librarian of the school to hold onto it for her, and the librarian was sure to let the Headmaster know of the _odd book_ that was not in her records.

The spiral was giving a soft hum as it pulsed every few seconds; each pulse giving off a strange warmth that he couldn't decipher. Carefully, he placed his index finger on the spiral's center, activating his Aura as he did so. With a steady hand, he moved his finger, which was glowing a bright green, from the center of the spiral to the ending tip. As he did, he heard the sound of something unlocking and then a final click that echoed once his finger reached the end.

 _"You're an overly curious individual,"_ a familiar voice spoke, prompting the man to turn to the source.

"The man from before," he greeted, not able to use a name. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

 _"Peace, young one,"_ the man eased, giving an amused smile at the tenseness Ozpin held. _"I'm only here to drop someone off. Consider this person the chain between this book and the world it's connected to."_

"I won't lie and say that I understand what you mean. Are you saying that other worlds actually _do_ exist?"

The man's rippled, metallic purple eyes gained a knowing gleam in them as he stayed silent. He only tapped the end of his staff on the ground gently before he faded away. _"Take care of this chain, young one. She knows about the Bringer of Peace,"_ the man's voice echoed as the spot his staff touched gave a red glow before an equally red flash erupted within the room, forcing the Headmaster to shield his eyes.

When they were cleared, he saw a redheaded woman dressed in a high-collared white blouse that was beneath a green loose-fitting dress. She wore a dark blue band on her left wrist, similarly colored combat sandals that had her toes and heels exposed, and a black clip that parted her hair to the left. Said hair was incredibly long, reaching down to her ankles with shoulder-length bangs that framed her heart-shaped face. Finishing off her look was a pair of expressive violet eyes that looked to her new surroundings with unhidden curiosity.

"Huh…" she began, her voice sounding soft and caring. "So _this_ is what the Old Man was talking about…" She ignored Ozpin as she walked around the library, casually looking at the book titles that filled it shelves as the Headmaster followed her. "You must be Ozpin," she noted offhandedly, still not turning to him. "I was told that I would be in your care for the time-being."

The man couldn't help but look amused at how she was so easily dismissing his presence. Not many people would do that; so, it was somewhat refreshing. "Yes, my name is Ozpin. May I know the name of my Academy's newest guest?"

"Kushina," the woman answered, pulling out a book and skimming through it before placing it back. "Kushina Uzumaki."

"Well, Miss Uzumaki-"

"Ugh," she groaned, finally turning to him to show her displeasure. "Don't be so formal! It's really annoying, ttebane…"

He blinked at the verbal tic at the end, and then sweatdropped at how annoyed she grew at using it. "I'll…try to keep that in mind then. Would you mind if I just used your first name?"

"That's what I was getting at, ttebane!" She twitched. "Dammit! I thought I was over that stupid tic when I talked to Naruto!"

Coughing, so that his chuckle would be hidden, Ozpin turned and gestured to the door leading out of the library. "Why don't we talk in my office? I'm sure we both have questions for one another, and I'd like to get them all sorted as soon as possible."

Kushina shrugged and followed him out. "Fine by me, Old Man."

He stumbled briefly at the nickname. "I'm sorry, did you just-?"

"Call you old? Yes, I did." Her expression became deadpan as she pointed to his silver hair. "Your hair says it all; even if you dye your eyebrows…"

Ozpin choked on his spit at that, and this left the redheaded woman feeling both amused and proud all the way to his office.

* * *

"I see," Kushina said after Ozpin had explained what the world of Remnant was like and what he believed was the reason she was brought to Beacon Academy. "Well, your world is definitely interesting; especially with how there are people with animal traits. We had a couple of clans similar to that back home; but none of them had _actual_ animal features."

"Yes; though, it shames me to admit that they are treated as second-class citizens of the world. While Vale is mainly neutral to them, there is still racism in this Kingdom," Ozpin replied, taking a drink of his coffee.

"I don't see why you can't just do something about it. You seem like an important guy if the Old Man gave you that book and had me show up here." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, giving the man a narrowed look. "What's holding you back?"

"It's not that simple."

"Bullshit," she cut off, narrowing her eyes further. "It's not complicated at all. All you need to do is show that you support these Faunus people; and make sure that _everyone_ knows that they _are_ people who live in Remnant and defend it just like _humans_ do. How the hell is that so complicated, ttebane?"

"It's a sign of favoritism that could instigate-"

He was cut off again by the Uzumaki. "Bull. Shit." She was full-on glaring at him now. "…You remind me so much of the Old Monkey. He was a leader and a guide of the next generation; just like you. And just as he had the best interests for everyone, so do you."

"He sounds like a great man," Ozpin tried reply, but he felt like it was the wrong thing to say.

"To many, he was. However, like you just said about the situation concerning racism, he couldn't show any _blatant favoritism_ since he had to be seen as a leader to all sides. It would be _unfair_ to show more support for another." It was obvious to the Headmaster that she was angry. "And while that's great and all for making you seem unbiased, the real unfairness of it all is that you openly admit to support not only the people suffering, but the _sources_ of that suffering; like the racists who mistreat the Faunus or the people who mistreated my son."

"Your son?" he couldn't help but ask in curiosity.

"…Never mind," she answered after a moment's pause, getting up from her seat to pace. Like any Uzumaki, she had too much energy and was restless just sitting in an office. "The point I'm trying to make is that, unless someone acts…nothing will get better. You're not acting, Ozpin." She leaned over his desk, staring him in the eyes and practically piercing him with her gaze. "You're hoping someone will do it for you… Either that, or you're trying to influence others to act while keeping your hands clean. Out of those two options, I can't decide what's worse."

With her piece said, the mother of the Bringer of Peace walked out of his office to explore the Academy grounds, leaving the Headmaster to his thoughts.

* * *

Being mindful not to disturb any lessons going on, Kushina peeked into a few of the classes as she explored, finding them to be both interesting and disappointing. They were useful, sure; but they couldn't compare to how her Academy life was. What made it all the more disappointing was that a team of Genin from her generation would outclass any oddly named team this Academy produced.

There was no beating a ninja; case closed.

She moved outside to explore the grounds, mentally noting things that she figured her son would like if he came here with her. She smiled to herself when she remembered what she had been promised by Old Man Hagoromo. She was to be present when the book connecting her world to Remnant was read, being a vocal link between them so that she could explain things to the children reading the book's contents. In exchange, she would be eventually gifted another chance to be with her child, along with the choice of having a life back home or in Remnant.

It was certainly better than spending the rest of eternity in the Pure World. It was too boring for her tastes, being so used to a chaotically wonderful life.

The sounds of training broke her from her thoughts, and she turned to see a four-girl team going through combination drills together. RWBY, she vaguely remembered being the name of the team. The other team she would be spending time with was called JNPR, and both teams were around the same age as her son; save for the young leader of Team RWBY.

Speaking of said leader, she was coming up with adorable two-girl team names for their combo attacks. Currently, the group of four was divided into Bumblebee and Ice Flower.

 _'Creative and cute,'_ Kushina noted with an amused look as she leaned on her leg and observed the team, checking out how effective they were as a cohesive unit.

It wasn't until around a half an hour later that she was finally noticed by the black-themed girl. Her sharp eyes locked onto Kushina's violet orbs and her bow twitched faintly, letting the Uzumaki briefly see the feline ears hidden beneath the tied ribbon.

 _'A faunus, then,'_ she noted before giving the girl a small nod in greeting, prompting her to stop the team's training. Taking it as her cue, the Uzumaki made her way to the four young women and gave a short wave. "Good afternoon."

Ruby gave a bright smile in reply. "Hello. Are you a teacher here?"

"Never seen her before," Yang noted, scratching her head to try and remember if she might've missed her.

Kushina gave an amused smile and shook her head. "No, I'm actually a foreigner here." She held back a snort at just how foreign she was. "I was just taking a tour of the Academy here and comparing it to home."

Weiss looked interested. "And how does Beacon compare, Miss…?"

"Kushina Uzumaki," she answered, enjoying the look of surprise on their faces. Before they could speak, she continued, "Why don't we go find your friends? I'm sure you all will have plenty of questions for me; especially ones about my _son_ , Naruto."

Dumbfounded, the four girls could only nod and walk with the woman, questions racing through their minds.

* * *

Out of the nine people sitting in the private room in the library, only two of them weren't continuously shifting attention between the two redheaded women (since they were the women in question). It was incredible to them how similar they looked with just a few shared physical features.

Long red hair. A body trained for combat. Expressive eyes (even if they were different shades).

It was definitely not something they were expecting to see that day.

"Alright, why don't I just explain a few things before we get back to the book?" suggested Kushina calmly, earning nods from the young Huntsmen in training. "Now, my name is Kushina Uzumaki, and yes, I'm related to Naruto Uzumaki. I'm his mother."

Team RWBY already heard her say this, so the shock wasn't as high as what Team JNPR was feeling. "But…why are you here?" Ruby asked. "Shouldn't you be with him?"

"Believe me, I wish I could be. However, I died on the night I gave birth to my son when I jumped in the way of the Kyuubi trying to kill him."

"The Kyuubi was mentioned in the first chapter of that book," Weiss spoke up, pointing to the item on the table. "It also mentioned _Kurama_. Are they related?"

Kushina nodded once. "Kurama is the name the Kyuubi was given by its creator. A legend, that I now know to be true, in my world is that there was once a ten-tailed beast that was split into nine seperate beasts; each with an increasing number of tails starting from one and ending at nine."

"And…Kurama was what number?" Jaune asked, pausing before using the Bijuu's name.

"Nine," the Uzumaki woman answered. "I was once the living prison for Kurama before he was pulled out of me on the night of Naruto's birth. My husband and I sacrificed our lives to stop Kurama and to keep our son safe."

"…And then Naruto became the new prison," deduced Blake with a small frown.

"Yes, he did," Kushina confirmed. "Jinchūriki is the proper term for what we are. It roughly translates to Human Sacrifice; which is what we end up becoming as soon as a Bijuu is sealed within us."

There was silence for a few moments as the two teams processed the new term and the weight behind it. Finally, Pyrrha spoke up, "There's something I still don't understand." Kushina turned to her. "If you died…how are you here?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. The creator of the Bijuu, known as the Sage of Six Paths back home, is able to manipulate space and time. He exists outside of time, but he can't do anything he wants. It was he who gave Ozpin that book," she pointed to it, "and he also visited me in the Pure World; basically our afterlife. He made me an offer that I had no intention of turning down, and my end of the deal was to come here and read this book with you all."

Ruby and Yang looked eager to hear that. "Awesome!"

Weiss rose a brow in wonder, curious about what Kushina would be given for reading with a bunch of teenagers.

Blake looked to the book on the table for a moment before turning to Kushina. A small smile formed on her face when she realized what her presence would mean. "You're supposed to be some kind of…link between us, the book, and your world, aren't you?"

"Smart girl," praised the woman.

"But what do you get out of reading with us?" Jaune asked in confusion, unknowingly asking what Weiss was wondering.

"I'll tell you all at a later time. I think we should get back to the story before it gets too late."

Nora smiled brightly and reached out for the book. "Ooh! I'll read this time!"

Having a longer reach than her, Ren grabbed the book from the table and handed it to his friend. As soon as she opened it up to the start of the second chapter, the monitor screen in the room lit up and displayed it's title.

 _Chapter Two: Welcome to Remnant_

"Okay!"Nora declared. "Here we go!"

* * *

 **"So," began an orange haired man dressed in a white coat with a black bowler hat and cane, "this was what you four left me _all alone_ for?" His visible black eye looked down at the pair of blue eyes that belonged to the crippled blonde. **

"That's Roman Torchwick!" Ruby exclaimed. "He…works for Cinder?"

"Figures that criminals should stick together," Weiss commented, crossing her arms.

 **Turning his attention to Cinder, he smirked and added, "He don't look like much."**

"At least he doesn't look like some flake!" Yang insulted, making Kushina snort.

She vaguely recalled describing Minato, as a child, to be flaky.

 **"Neither do you, at first glance," she smoothly replied, smirking at his deflated ego. "Besides," she stepped up to Naruto from her position behind him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder, "I have no doubt that Mr. Uzumaki will be a _very_ welcome addition to our team. Now, if you will follow me, Naruto, I'll show you to a spare room. It will be yours for the foreseeable future."**

 **"Right…" he replied in a soft tone as he trailed behind her.  
**

"It's hard to see my son behaving like this," Kushina spoke up, getting their attention. "But…I can't say that I don't understand it. I was the same way for a while when I heard of my Clan's near genocide years ago. Plus the fact that he's been crippled by someone he fought so hard to redeem…" She sighed with her face in her hand. "Mikoto-chan, you'd be turning in your grave if you knew what your son has done…"

The teens in the room cringed at her words before Nora decided to get back on track.

 **Calling back to the others, Cinder ordered, "Find our newest partner some decent clothes, please. We can't have him walking around in rags."**

 **Emerald took initiative and replied, "I'll see what I can find in town, ma'am," before she made her way for the exit of their current base; a foreclosed and abandoned hotel in the city of Vale.**

"We gotta make plans to look for buildings like that in Vale," Ren noted. "While the book may not be a real interpretation, there might still be some elements that are true."

The others nodded while Kushina smiled at the camaraderie between them.

 **Neo stopped her just before she made it to the door before handing her a slip of paper. As Emerald looked it over, she saw two spelled out colors as well as an accurate drawing of both the red spiral on Naruto's destroyed jacket and the symbol on his headband. The colors written down were _orange_ and _black_ , so it gave Emerald a better idea of what to get the Uzumaki.**

"What do all of those mean, anyway?" Ruby asked Kushina.

"The spiral is the Uzumaki Clan symbol, and the headband's marking is for the Hidden Leaf Village."

"And the color scheme?" Pyrrha asked.

"Minato and I were both known for our hair and were even given monikers for it. He was known as the Yellow Flash while I was the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero," she explained, looking embarrassed at her old title. "Naruto grew to love orange, and he didn't know that it was a combination of our colors until pretty recently. As for the black, it's probably because it was the only other color on his old clothes."

The explanation made sense to them and Nora continued to read.

 **"Thanks, Neo," the minty greenette drawled out with an eye-roll as she left the hotel.**

 **Neo only smirked before walking off to find her newest source of interest. She was in such a good mood that she almost skipped down the old hallways.**

"I'm not sure how I feel about her interest in my child," Kushina mused aloud. "But out of all of them in that group, I'd say that she seems the least…cruel."

Yang snorted at that. "Yeah, to you maybe… I didn't recognize her right away since the book was so interesting, but I remember that girl. She was a pain to fight and she kicked my ass like I was nothing."

"Now that you mention it," Weiss spoke up, "doesn't Emerald and Mercury look familiar as well?"

Blake studied the images for a brief moment before her eyes widened. "They are! They're those exchange students from Haven!"

"And Cinder was with them!" Ruby added, surprising the others save for Kushina.

"We have to tell Ozpin!" Jaune declared before he and the others found golden chains wrapped around their midsections and holding them down in their seats.

"Calm down," Kushina admonished. "You can't go rushing into things; it's a surefire way to get yourself killed." She waited for them all to relax before she called back her chakra chains. "Now, let's finish this chapter and then you all can figure out what to do. I'll help you, if you want; but I need you all to stay calm."

One by one, the Huntsmen in training all slowly nodded in agreement before they continued the reading.

* * *

 **"I apologize for all of the dust and any other potential damages to the room," Cinder began, opening the door for her newest partner, "but I'm sure you understand that there's only so much we could do for this place while staying under the radar."**

 **"It's fine," he replied, stepping into the room and giving it a onceover. "I've stayed in worse places."**

"Where did he stay?" Blake asked, turning to Kushina for the answer.

"My guess? The Red Light District or another rundown part of the village. A place where he was either with other lowlifes or all alone," she answered. "People like myself and Naruto are treated similarly to how you Faunus are…"

Blake frowned at that, her hands clenching at the thought of how her fellow people were treated then and now.

 **"Have you?" she queried, honestly somewhat surprised. "I figured you were the type to live in, and I mean no offense, a rather average home. Where did you stay for most of your life?"**

 **Pocketing his headband, he moved to the windows and tore off the ruined curtains before opening the windows. "I lived in an old apartment in the poorer part of my home village.**

"See?" Kushina asked rhetorically.

 **It wasn't much, but it was still home." Turning to her, he requested, "Close the door for a moment while I clear out the dust. Also, you might want to go outside so you don't get hit by any of it."**

 **Curious about what he planned to do, she complied, but stayed inside of the room. "A little dirt never hurt anyone," she commented.**

 **Shrugging, he closed his eyes and focused his chakra, mixing wind nature into it before he manipulated the energy with his left hand. Within the manipulation, he had the wind from outside the window sweep in and create a small vacuum that took in all of the dust before it flew outside in a twisting manner; almost like a drill of wind. Once outside, the drill dispersed and let the dust get carried off in the outside breeze while Naruto brushed off any lingering dirt on his destroyed clothes.**

"Whoa," Jaune commented. "That's useful."

"A little unorthodox," Weiss added. "But it was effective. Were elements unique to people from your world?"

"In a sense," Kushina answered. "We shinobi held elemental affinities, and they indicated which element would be easier for us to master. For example, I favored the water element while my son is wind natured."

Pyrrha looked interested at that. "Could someone have more than one affinity?"

"Yes, but naturally having two at the start is rare. Most people develop a secondary affinity after years of training or if they have a bloodline for it." She raised a hand to stop anymore questions on the subject. "I'll tell you all about bloodline limits later. Nora, if you'd please continue?"

Saluting, the orangette girl replied, "Yes, ma'am!"

 **Cinder did the same, though she held a smirk at the impressive use of wind. "I never thought that you would have a Semblance that used the wind."**

 **Raising a brow at her, he asked a question that, once again, caught her by surprise. "What's a Semblance?"**

* * *

 **When Emerald returned with her backpack stuffed with clothes, she was curious to see Cinder and Naruto sitting across from one another with only a coffee table between them. Moving closer, she saw that the table had a book that was open to a diagram of a genderless body with highlights on their core.**

"Ugh… That diagram was weird, even in school," Ruby complained while Yang nodded in agreement.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised you said that," Weiss deadpanned.

 **"…is the basis of Aura and Semblances," she heard Cinder finish saying. "Do you understand so far?"**

 **He crossed what he could of his arms, eyes closed thoughtfully. "Sort of… Although, it sounds like this Aura acts as an incomplete version of chakra while a person's Semblance makes up the missing parts."**

 **The new word caught Emerald's interest, as well as Cinder's. "You mentioned that word a couple of times during my impromptu lesson. What exactly is _chakra_ , Naruto?"**

The two teams showed visible interest at this while Kushina looked amused at their reactions.

 **He was about to answer before he turned to Emerald. "You can listen too, if you want. Actually," he held up his only hand and made a half ram seal, producing a burst of smoke that revealed a perfect copy of him, "go get the others. I'd rather only say this once."**

 **The clone nodded and walked off, and Naruto turned to the two women only to see their eyes focused on his retreating duplicate. "You…can replicate yourself?" asked Cinder after a brief pause.**

"Aww," Yang began, throwing an arm over Blake's shoulders. "You both can copy yourselves! Isn't that great?"

Blake blushed faintly at the teasing, but she gave her partner a blank stare. "…Let go of me."

Grinning, Yang complied and nudged her while Kushina watched with a slightly raised brow.

 **"Yes," he answered simply, having to get used to how chakra seemed to be an unfounded source of power in this place he was now in. "I'll explain more when the others get here."**

 **Cinder nodded at this and reached for her cup of warm tea while Emerald took a seat beside her. After a few minutes, the others arrived after Naruto's clone, and he had to fight his slight amusement at their surprise. He didn't want to show happiness when he knew he should be more worried about the others back home.**

"Priorities are important," Weiss noted, ignoring the mock vomiting sounds Ruby, Yang, and Nora made.

 **While Roman and Mercury stood behind the two-person couch that the women occupied, Neo decided to sit on the other couch next to the blonde, her eyes both taking a pink color of interest. Seeing that everyone was paying attention – though Roman had to be shut up by Cinder making a veiled threat – Naruto took that as his cue to begin.**

 **"Chakra is a life energy that everyone back in my home is able to use. And I mean _life_ in the purest sense," he stressed, making sure they understood. "It's as crucial to us as oxygen and nutrients, and it's made up of two halves that work together; a physical side and a spiritual side. From what I was taught, the physical side comes from our body – from the nerves and muscles to cells – while the spiritual side comes from our mind. Both sides can become stronger through specific training methods; such as exercise for physical and studying for mental. Some people have a higher side than the other, but that doesn't stop them from being able to use chakra."**

The whole time, Kushina was nodding as her son's story counterpart explained the internal energy of the shinobi world.

 **"So," cut in Emerald with crossed arms, "that copy you made used chakra?"**

 **"Yes. That was a jutsu, a technique that is made through a specific use of chakra. Chakra, from what I've witnessed throughout my life, has a near limitless amount of uses; from controlling the elements," Roman looked interested, "to becoming invisible," Emerald rose a brow, "to increasing physical strength," Mercury perked up, "to creating illusions," Neo smirked, "and even something as cruel as raising the dead."**

The inhabitants of Remnant looked disturbed by that last use of chakra while Kushina looked ashamed. It was a rather unsightly discovery of chakra's uses; one founded by the Second Hokage, no less.

 **Cinder's eyes gave a brief glow of interest at this; though she noted the disgust Naruto had on his face, as well as the haunted look in his eyes. "You've faced those risen dead, haven't you?" she asked, earning a solemn nod from the blonde man.**

 **"Yes… It's not something I like to remember, so please just drop it."**

 **"Of course," she assured in a soft tone, mentally smirking. _'For now, Naruto. But don't think I'll forget that little feature.'_**

"She's going to bother him about it later," Ruby grumbled.

Pyrrha frowned at that, crossing her arms in her seat. "Some things should just be left alone…"

 **"Alright, so you use this _chakra_ instead of Aura," Roman summed up, air quoting chakra. "What makes it so different?"**

 **Emerald then added, "You mentioned how Aura was like an incomplete chakra. What did you mean by that?"**

 **Naruto nodded at their combined question, not surprised they asked it. "From what Cinder told me, Aura deals with physical concerns such as healing, defense, and stamina. Meanwhile, a person's Semblance relates to their soul; or spirit. So, based on that…"**

 **Seeing as he let it hang, Mercury answered, "Aura acts as the physical half of your chakra while our Semblances make the spiritual half." Naruto nodded once. "Do you think we could combine them together to replicate your chakra?"**

"No, it's impossible," Kushina answered, letting the others know upfront. "Chakra is something you're born with, and there's been no record of anyone being gifted with chakra before; except for Old Man Hagoromo."

"Well, that's good then, right?" Jaune asked. "It means that Cinder and her gang won't be getting any crazy power boosts from Naruto anytime soon."

 **Cinder showed the most interest at that question, though she was disappointed at the unsure expression Naruto bore. "I can't say. I don't know how you all personally use your Aura, or even what your Semblances are. Since the Semblance of a person is a representation of _their_ soul, it _might_ be possible for a _few_ people to replicate chakra; but I doubt it. Chakra is something you're born with; and even back home, the creation of artificial chakra was really rare."**

"Oh, perhaps they made some advances since my death," Kushina mused, casually restating how she was technically dead.

In fact, it was so casual that the others ironically looked uncomfortable about it.

 ** _'Damn,'_ mentally cursed Cinder, annoyed at such a power being out of her reach. She blinked at that thought before smirking. _'Although, perhaps it's not_ fully _out of my reach,'_ she mused while turning to Naruto. "Anything else you could tell us about your chakra?"**

 **"Other than the fact that I can't sense anyone in this city who could use it, or that my own chakra is unique in and of itself?" he asked in an almost deadpanned tone.**

"Does he have a bloodline limit?" Ren asked.

"Yes, and no. Yes, he carries the blood of the Uzumaki and has our incredible chakra and vitality; but he can't use the chakra chains that myself and Mito-sama were able to use," she answered, poking a glowing gold chain from her palm. "However, Naruto has access to his chakra, the chakra of nature, and the chakra of the Bijuu that has been infused into his core by the Tailed Beasts themselves and the Old Sage."

"Damn," Yang summarized eloquently.

"No kidding," Blake agreed wholeheartedly with her partner's statement.

 **"No, that's pretty much it. Anything else would be unimportant since none of you can use it."**

 **Mentally though, he was frowning at the strange feeling coming from Cinder. It felt like an incredibly diluted and weak chakra core; one that didn't even truly belong to her. It was almost…**

 ** _'…as if she was a Jinchūriki,'_ he mused, storing that thought away for later.**

"That's…worrying," Kushina noted with a frown.

"She probably has someone else's Aura fused into her somehow," Weiss deduced, though she looked unsure of the possibility.

"How cruel…" Pyrrha said in sympathy for the owner of the stolen Aura.

 **"That's a shame. I'm curious as to how I'd fare with that kind of power," she mused almost wistfully.**

 **This earned her a frown from Naruto, much to her continued interest. "Power isn't everything," he shot down with a knowing undertone. "Someone with insane power will only be seen as such; never allowed to live in peace because of those who crave that very power for themselves."**

Weiss frowned at the truth in that, knowing that her family's status was coveted by many. However, she also knew that her family wasn't the only one with _power_ to be envied.

 **She had to give him that one. She herself craved his power, as well as _her_ power.**

Both teams and Kushina looked confused at that.

 **"Well, I believe that's enough talk of different energies for the time being. I need to look over some things for our current and potential operations." Standing up, she started to leave the room, placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder to gently brush her fingers against him. "I look forward to more opportunities to speak with you, Mr. Uzumaki. I find myself more and more interested in what made you into the man you are now."**

 **He didn't look at her as she spoke, instead having an unfocused gaze as memories involuntarily moved to the forefront of his thoughts. She saw this and smirked, enjoying how she could cause an effect on him with her rather simple comments. She was going to enjoy seeing just how much she could influence his thoughts.**

Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Pyrrha looked angered at Cinder's actions and how they affected Naruto so much. And their anger made Kushina smile since it showed how they were as people.

 **After she left, Roman took his leave as well, not even bothering to give the others a form of farewell. He had heists to plan, and he needed men to do it. And every person who walked the underground knew where to get cheap grunts. He chuckled as he made his way to his personal ride in the hotel's garage. _'Wonder how good ol' Junior's doing…'_**

Yang blinked at that. "Hang on… Don't tell me that… There's no way…"

"What are you going on about, now?" Weiss asked with a raised brow.

"Before I came here to Beacon, I went to see Junior to ask him a few questions. I'm not sure if it was Roman, but he might've been leaving as I showed up to that club."

"So, the book's getting closer to our first days at Beacon, then," Ren mused. "It means that it won't be long until our counterparts are introduced."

The others looked anxious at how their alternative selves would be portrayed.

 **Mercury was next to leave. "I need to do some maintenance," he said as he made a face at his legs. "We still have extra oil in stock, right Emerald?"**

 **She rolled her red eyes at him, annoyed at the unnecessary inquiry. "We should have plenty for at least a few days' worth, considering that we restocked just this week," Emerald answered pointedly, earning a look of irritation from the gray haired young man. "You probably also forgot that Mistress had me make sure that I left a spare can next to your tools for you."**

 **Irritated further by how she made him feel like a fool, he left for a different part of the hotel building. He needed something to quell his annoyance.**

 **"Well, I have my own tasks to take care of; so I'll just leave these here for you," Emerald continued, pulling out a large bag from her backpack and setting it in front of Naruto. "If you don't like them, then do your own shopping," she almost snarked, but kept her tone civil. This man was of great interest to her Mistress, after all. "And if you want to have something specific put on them, there's a clothing shop downtown that does personalized stitching for a cost."**

 **Naruto only nodded in thanks, ignoring her rather rude speech since he was still trying to stop his onslaught of memories. He was left alone with the shortest member of Cinder's team, and she was content to just sit on the couch with him in silence. Sure, she wanted to talk to him; but she knew he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts for the moment. Neo was a patient girl, so she could wait for her chance.**

"Definitely interested," Yang noted with a smirk. "Bet you they wind up together in this story."

"I'll take that bet," Weiss agreed. "If Naruto is going to end up with anyone in this, it'll be with someone who shows genuine care for his recovery; not some manipulator."

"50 Lien on it?" Yang was grinning as she held out a hand.

"You're on." Weiss shook the offered hand with a smirk.

Blake shook her head at their bet while Ruby looked unsure. Team JNPR shared a look and said nothing while Kushina studied the interested look on Neo's paused image.

 **After a few moments, the blonde man got his thoughts in order and took note of his remaining company. "…Neo, right?" he asked unsurely, earning a nod in confirmation. "You don't talk much, do you?" A head shake. " _Can_ you talk?" A smirk, which made him sigh. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, I'm going to see what my new clothes will look like."**

 **Grabbing the bag, he stood up and made for his room, only to feel a presence following him. Turning around, he looked down to see Neo smirking up at him, both eyes that pink color that he associated with "intrigue" or "interest".**

"One down," Pyrrha said as she added onto her notes concerning Neo's eye color combinations.

Nora gave Ren a smile and he raised his hands in defeat, knowing what she was going to say.

 **From what he had observed, she had three eye colorations, and that meant a total of six different combinations; or "moods" as he liked to believe. And from what he had seen, when both of her eyes were pink, it meant that she was interested in something.**

 **In this case, it seemed to be himself that Neo was interested in.**

 **"You don't plan to follow me all the way to my room, do you?" he asked, earning a vague shrug from her. "Listen…I appreciate you keeping me company, but I need some time alone. I'll…talk to you when I've had enough time. Will that work for you?"**

 **She frowned, both eyes turning to a brown color as she blinked. Still frowning, she held out her left hand and gestured to it with her eyes. Catching her meaning, he sighed again and looped the bag on his crippled arm before shaking her hand, showing that they had struck an "accord".**

 **Satisfied, Neo returned her eyes to their natural brown/pink combination before she walked off. Where she was going was anyone's guess, and the blonde Uzumaki didn't feel like making _any_ guesses about it. Instead, he headed for his room and closed the door to give himself some much needed privacy. He set the bag down on his bed before pulling out the clothes Emerald had gotten for him on Cinder's orders.**

 **To his curiosity, he saw that the clothes were orange and black and that Emerald had even gotten him some armor-padded sandals like the damaged ones he currently wore. Figuring that she just got him clothes based on the colors of his ruined ones, he chose not to dwell on it anymore and just got dressed. It was difficult with the loss of his dominant hand, but he remedied that by having golden chakra form a crude hand shape to assist him.**

"Behold the power of the Bijuu," Kushina proclaimed playfully, earning amused looks and a few chuckles from the teens.

 **He was somewhat relieved that he still held the Six Paths Senjutsu that his Sun Mark had bestowed upon him. This meant that he had incredibly powerful chakra to call upon, as well as his Truth Seeker Orbs. However, he made no plans to use those abilities unless the situation was dire enough for their presence.**

 **Though, helping him get dressed was an exception.**

 **When he finished putting on his new clothes, he had to say that he approved of Emerald's picks. He had on his mesh undershirt as usual, but over it he wore an orange, zip-down sweatshirt that was both comfortable and durable with three black stripes each on his sleeves and waistline. He wore all black pants with the pant legs tucked into his new sandals that were equally black and stopped at his shins. He rolled up the right sleeve so that the end of his arm stub was just barely seen. Coming from a life that thrived on battle and conflict (much to his dismay), he knew that the loose sleeve would be a hindrance to him.**

"Looking good, son," praised Kushina, liking the clothes her son was wearing. "Black and orange really work for him, ttebane."

"What does that mean, anyway?" Yang asked.

"…It's a damn tic that I've had since I was a kid and I hoped not to pass down to my son," the redheaded woman grumbled. "Sadly, I did, and now he occasionally says _ttebayo_ when he's excited, flustered, or angry…"

The two teams sweatdropped at her feelings toward her tic and how Naruto inherited part of it from her.

 **"Not bad," he murmured before sitting on his bed and looking at his ruined clothes that had his Hidden Leaf Headband neatly folded on top of them. He held a look of shame as he stared at the proud symbol of his home; a symbol that he couldn't bear to look at anymore. His failure still weighed heavily on his heart, as well as the anger at Sasuke for finally succeeding in severing the bond that Naruto held with him.**

 **Never before had Naruto felt so betrayed. He had done everything he could to try and help Sasuke stop going down the path of revenge and hatred; but Sasuke denied every attempt and even tried to kill him. And it wasn't just a one-time attempt at murder; it was _several_!**

The air in the room grew a bit heavy as Kushina clenched her knuckles and popped them.

 **The first two (possibly _three_ ) were when they were both still children. The next attempt was when they reunited as young adults at Orochimaru's hideout, and Naruto didn't even try to stop him that time. The next was in the Land of Iron, after Sasuke had made himself a criminal against the Five Kage of the Elemental Nations; right after Naruto had stopped him from trying to _kill_ Sakura!**

The air grew heavier.

 **When they reunited during the war, Naruto truly believed that Sasuke had finally turned around; even though he was upset at the Uchiha claiming to take the position of Hokage. It was thanks to Sasuke – as well as a great hit from Sakura on Kaguya – that the Mother of Chakra was able to be sealed away again. Things were starting to really look up for Naruto.**

 **But, then Sasuke had to ruin it once again by choosing a hatred, vengeful path; one that he claimed would be a "revolution" for the Shinobi World as a whole. Naruto knew he had to stop Sasuke, not just for his incredibly selfish plan; but to save the people who were still trapped within their "perfect" dreams and forced to act as nutrients for the Shinju Tree.**

The heaviness lingered.

 **After everything he had done, it had all been spurned and practically spit upon by Sasuke during their final battle. And now, because of Sasuke's foolish desire and hatred, Naruto had been unable to get him to help free the others and was now stuck in an unknown place; forced to become a partner with a woman who held obvious ulterior motives.**

 **Sighing in frustration, he laid on the comforter of his bed, staring at the ceiling as tears formed in his eyes. These tears held regret… They held pain… They held anger… But most of all, they held resentment. This resentment wasn't for Sasuke, however; it was for himself. He resented how he couldn't work the nerve to strike a more crucial blow on Sasuke on multiple occasions. He could have done so in almost all of their fights; but he didn't.**

"It's not healthy to dwell on what could've been," Blake whispered, speaking from years of experience doing that very same thing. "It eats away at you the more you do…"

Yang reached over and patter her leg, giving a supportive look with Ruby and Weiss that the young Faunus appreciated. "You have us now, Blake…"

"I know… Thanks, girls."

Kushina smiled at the bonds between them, being reminded of her old friends and the bonds they shared. _'You girls will be good for him,'_ she mused, thinking of the day her son would arrive.

 **And now…he was paying for that weak nerve…and it was torture on his damaged heart.**

* * *

 **It was a couple of days later that Naruto found himself alone at the hotel building with Mercury. Cinder wanted him to have a sort of "grace period" to get adjusted with his new home before she had him take on any jobs or assignments.**

 **So, Naruto decided to just use the time to think some more about his situation. Mercury had moved his tools into the empty room he was in and was working on something unknown to the Uzumaki; not that he wanted to know anyway.**

 **Cinder had given Mercury orders to keep an eye on Naruto, as well as try to get him talking. He honestly didn't want to, not seeing the point in dealing with the whiskered blonde, but Cinder could be very _persuasive_ when she wanted to be.**

"I'll bet she is," Blake said with a frown, crossing her arms.

"Easy there, tigress," Yang teased.

 **Too bad for Merc that her persuasions weren't of the pleasurable sort.**

 **"So…" the silver-haired man began, wondering how he would talk with the guy that only Cinder and (ironically) Neo could get to actually speak, "how are you liking the idea of working with us so far?"**

 **He wanted to scowl when he saw that Naruto had stonewalled him, the newbie's gaze fixed somberly on a uniquely designed trench knife, with the blade made to be worn akin to a brass knuckle. The edge had a sharpened zigzag "tooth" over each knuckle, and a blade coming out of one end. It was something that the others had seen Neo get made for him at one of the many weapon shops of Vale City.**

"I vaguely remember someone back home using that style of weapon," Kushina mused. "Simple, yet surprisingly effective."

 ** _'Why the hell is she so interested in this guy? Okay, so the way the Grimm treated him back at Mountain Glenn was weird, and that_ chakra _stuff he used and told us about was admittedly interesting…but what the hell is going on through that girl's head to be doing stuff for this sorry sack?'_ Taking a breath to compose himself once more, he tried again to get the blonde talking. "Hey, listen… I get it; you don't wanna talk," Mercury said, continuing the one-sided conversation. From the forlorn expression the blond wore, his mind was yet again on those that he'd been unable to protect. "You know, you can trust the boss. Cinder helped me get back on my feet," he then pulled up his pants part-way up his thighs, "literally."**

 **Naruto finally removed his gaze from the trench knife in his hand and looked over at Mercury. His brow rose at what he saw; fully functional prosthetic legs that preformed as well as the original biological versions. While it was interesting, it also explained why Mercury always wore pants and why he never took his shoes off; as well as the recurring comments on maintenance, oil, and tools the guy regularly made.**

"Whoa," everyone said.

"That explains why he forfeited our spar during combat class," Pyrrha realized. "He figured out my Semblance!"

"That means that they could use it against you," Jaune noted with concern for his friend, partner, and teammate. "We _really_ need to keep a lookout for these guys."

 **Seeing that he had their newest member's attention, Mercury also removed the armor he wore over his arms, exposing what appeared to be oddly-shaped scars on the outer sides and backs of both of his arms. He didn't like showing these or his legs to other people, but it wasn't like this guy wouldn't eventually learn about them since they'd be working together. And considering the blonde's own obvious maiming, it wasn't like he'd be unable to understand why things like this were touchy subjects.**

 **Naruto looked at the state of Mercury's body. _'So…Cinder has helped others like me before, then. I'm not surprised that she goes for the broken and downtrodden, the ones that life spat on…'_**

"Easy targets, for sure," Weiss noted.

 **Still, that had earned her a few points in his book, considering that he knew what it was like to need help but not receive any. The woman may have had ulterior motives, but as the saying goes: _Nothing in life is free. Everything has its price._**

"Oh, there is nothing truer than that," Nora noted, thinking back on her past before and after she met her best friend.

 **Naruto nodded at the gray haired, lackadaisical young man that almost reminded him Kakashi. Cinder had helped put him together again, and she tried giving him the means to maintain some form of a regular life. Mercury might have felt the two of them were somewhat similar, which would help them form _some_ kind of mutual understanding.**

 **His eyes drifted to his own stub, his mind drifting again as he wondered what he was going to do.**

 **"Look," continued Mercury, "I know it's hard when you're at the shittiest end of the stick; but unless you figure out how to pick yourself up and find a way to move forward, things will never change. You'll stay stuck in the same place and rot to death. You can still try doing something with your life, and maybe find a way to reach your goals. But that can't happen unless you choose to do it, right?"**

"I don't like him, and I _especially_ don't like who he works for," Blake began, catching the others' attention, "but he said what Naruto needed to hear; and what I should've remembered."

 **That succeeded in snapping Naruto out of his thoughts and he knew that Mercury wasn't wrong. He still had to get home and make things right. He couldn't afford to rot or stay still.**

 **With that thought once again reestablished in his mind, the Uzumaki looked at Mercury and nodded. "…Thanks," he said simply.**

"Thank you indeed, Mercury," Kushina said, somewhat grateful for the aid her alternate son got.

 **All Mercury did was nod in return before resuming his work. As far as he cared, he got Naruto to speak, so he didn't feel the need to keep up the conversation.**

 **The others found the two in a comfortable silence upon their return, and Cinder gave Mercury a satisfied smirk at that.**

* * *

 **"Come on, kid," Roman tried once again, enjoying how the silent blonde made no attempts to shut him up or push him away. As a man who enjoyed being in the spotlight, he always welcomed an audience; even one who was such a downer.**

Everyone in the room had a deadpan or blank expression at how self-centered the man was.

 **"How about another demonstration, eh? I wanna see what you're capable of!"**

 **"…"**

 **Naruto only gave him a dull look in response. Why should he show his abilities when there wasn't any real point? And besides, _Cinder_ was the one who offered him a spot in this little group; not the man with hair shaded his favorite color.**

Nora looked up at her own hair and grinned. "I bet Whiskers will love my hair!"

"He would," Kushina deadpanned. "And he'd also be jealous of it…"

 **"You know, I doubt the little lady who thinks she's in charge will know what to use you for if you don't show her a little something," Roman attempted again.**

 **"…"**

 **Okay, now Roman was starting to get irritated. Sure, he could handle a silent audience; but one that blatantly ignored him, _while_ looking right at him?! _That_ was where he drew the line!**

"Suck it, Torchwick!" Yang hollered with a grin, enjoying how Blondie was pissing him off by doing nothing.

 **So, he moved away from the blonde under the guise of giving up. He even turned around and took a few steps away from the Uzumaki, making it seem like he was heading back up from the practically empty garage beneath the hotel. When he looked back slightly over his shoulder, he saw Naruto heading for the opposite set of stairs and smirked.**

 **Turning around, he raised his cane and had the end pommel flip its cover, showing a targeting crosshair at the end of the barrel of his revealed firearm. "Try ignoring _this_ , Whisker Boy!" he yelled out before attempting to squeeze the trigger.**

 **The key word being _attempting_.**

 **Before he could comprehend what had happened, he found himself off of the ground, pinned to the wall, and a hand around his neck. Shocked, he was about to struggle before he caught sight of dull blue eyes staring at him almost apathetically.**

"Wow," Jaune commented. "He didn't stand a chance…"

"I didn't know Naruto was fast like me," Ruby added.

"Well, chakra can help our muscles, giving us enhanced strength and speed," Kushina replied. "But, years of training can make us just as fast without chakra added."

"Awesome…" the young Rose whispered with starry eyes.

 **"…Don't try that again."**

 **That simple order was said in such a calm tone that it ironically brought a chill down the older man's spine. He was then unceremoniously dropped to the ground on his ass before his mind rebooted and he saw that Naruto was already at the foot of the stairs…on the other side of the garage _over one hundred feet away_.**

"Super Speed for the win!" Ruby cheered, amusing the others.

 **Rubbing his neck, he groaned and cracked it to get the kinks out before giving an annoyed huff. "Kids today… Always so melodramatic…"**

* * *

 **Emerald looked at the blond who kept staring dejectedly at the dented-up headband. From the looks of him, the guy had barely slept at all throughout the past few days. She frowned at this since he was only worsening his own condition; which also made his usefulness to Cinder drop by the day.**

 ** _'Geez, this guy is just oozing depression…'_**

 **As much as she disliked cheery and friendly, it would suit the amputee to buck up. She couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she knew that he needed to smile, laugh, and learn to enjoy being able to live a little!**

"Naruto was like that for most of his life," Kushina explained to the teens. "But, even the happiest of people can lose that spark when they lose enough of their joy; and Naruto found the most of his with those he loved."

"That's so sad," Pyrrha replied. "I wish we could help him."

"And I appreciate that you feel that way. But remember; this version of my son isn't truly real."

The two teams looked down thoughtfully at that. "…That still doesn't mean we can't be his friends for real, right?" Ruby asked innocently.

At this, the Uzumaki smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "Yes, you could. I'm sure he'd love to meet you all."

"Will he, though?" Blake asked suddenly before looked slightly embarrassed at her outburst. "I-I mean… He sounds like a great person, and I wouldn't mind meeting him too."

The poor girl didn't like the similar smiles that her partner and Naruto's mother both gave her.

 **Still though, his need to rebuild a reason to want to live wasn't easy. She knew that from when she had to steal to live before Mistress Cinder recruited her for her useful abilities. She'd lived in a city, day to day without a guarantee of enough food; always resorting to stealing to get by. While she wouldn't _ever_ admit it (and if anyone suggested she did, then she'd put a bullet in them) she empathized with the downtrodden people of Remnant. She couldn't really help it when she remembered the days before her Mistress had come into her life. Thanks to that, she understood a bit where the one-armed newbie was coming from.**

"Kindred spirits…sorta," Ren noted.

 **And it Pissed. Her. Off!**

 **"You know…you could stare at that thing until you've died, rotted, and your bones have turned to dust. Nothing's gonna change unless you snap out of this damn funk of yours," she snapped at him, only for him to stonewall her. "I know you heard me!" the girl growled angrily.**

 **" _…_ "**

 **Again, he ignored her.**

 **"God! No wonder you had to go groveling to that Sasuke guy to play the hero!"**

"Whoa! Low blow, bitch!" Yang yelled.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled at her sister.

"What?! I know you thought that too!"

"That doesn't mean you need to call her _that_!"

The others sweatdropped at the argument, finding it ironic that the _younger_ sister was worried about the _older_ sister's use of vulgarity.

 **She and the others had been given an explanation for why Naruto was in a funk by Cinder a couple days ago. So she knew that what she was about to say would get to him. "If all you're good for is being depressing, then the ones you failed needed someone that could actually rise to the occasion and get the job done; you know that?!"**

 **Emerald felt a tug at the corners of her mouth twitch as his shoulders tensed. Aha! She finally got a reaction out of him. Now to keep pressing on that one sensitive spot until he got too ticked off to stay depressed.**

"That's not gonna end well," Jaune noted, bracing himself for the fireworks that were being lit.

 **"So you trusted the wrong guy… So what?! Get over it! Were you the one that was stupid enough to make that backstabber a part of having to play the role of savior? How was that your fault?"**

 **He actually turned to glare at her by this point.**

"She's in trouble now," Weiss commented, giving a faintly vindictive smirk.

 **"Look…you're in a bad way right now, I get it. But are you just gonna piss and moan while drowning in your useless self-pity or you gonna get off your ass and actually do something, ya damn cripple?!" Emerald demanded.**

 **"…Shut up," he said in a cold tone, one that made her actually have to repress a shiver.**

Kushina herself shivered at her son's tone, hoping to never hear it for real.

 **"Not until you get out of this damn pity party you've thrown for yourself!" she fired back, standing over him as he sat on one of the couches.**

 **"You don't know anything," he stated, eyes as chilling as a snowstorm. "Don't go running your mouth about something you don't understand."**

 **She glared at him heatedly at that. "You think I don't understand how it feels to lose someone?!"**

 **"I didn't just _lose_ my loved ones," he cut off, catching her by surprise as he looked back down at his headband. "I failed them when they needed me most... I wasn't strong enough to help them and my weakness was the reason they are gone _…_ "**

 **"You gave up pretty quickly then since you aren't even attempting to try and get back to save them!" she snarked, but immediately regretted it when a dense pressure covered the room they were in.**

"Ooh, she's fucked…" Guess who.

"Yang!" Round Two.

"I'm just saying!" Go back to Round One.

Cue second coming of sweatdrops.

 **Hair shadowing his eyes, Naruto gave the greenette no warning when golden flickers of energy sprouted from his arm stub, taking shape and forming a man-sized claw that rushed at Emerald, slamming her into the wall. The force of the impact shook the hotel base and had the others rush into the room to see what was happening. To their surprise, and Cinder's interest, they saw golden aura practically pouring out of the blonde man while his chilling blue eyes bored into Emerald's terrified red ones.**

 **The golden claw closed around the young woman, trapping her before bringing her closer to the Uzumaki while her legs were dragged against the old carpeted floors of the building. Slowly, she got face-to-face with him, and she felt herself similar to an ant staring up at a giant.**

"The pressure that chakra can make, especially that of the Bijuu, will do that to you," Kushina explained, speaking from experience.

 **"…You don't know when to keep your mouth shut," he almost growled at her. "You think I won't try and get back to them? Why do you think I took Cinder's offer?" Carelessly, the chakra arm tossed her to the side, causing her to grunt at the impact she made with the opposite wall. "Until I know for sure that it's a pointless effort, I won't stop searching for a way back to the people I love. And a word of warning: disrespect my feelings for them again…and you won't be able to even regret it," he declared in a straight tone before he brushed past the others.**

"Something tells me that Naruto's not usually one for threats," Pyrrha guessed, earning a nod from her fellow redhead.

 **While Mercury moved over to the still shell-shocked Emerald, Cinder's eyes glowed with interest as her gaze followed Naruto's retreating form. _'You have some tricks up your sleeve, Mr. Uzumaki,'_ she mused with a smirk. _'More and more…I get to see who you truly are.'_**

"Keep dreaming," Blake and Yang spoke simultaneously, both women glaring at Cinder's image.

* * *

 **"…"**

 **"…"**

"Real talkative, those two," Yang joked, chuckling at her words.

 **This was the extent of the current conversation between Naruto and his petite guest. The two were in his room with Neo seated on his bed, legs crossed beneath her frame. He himself was seated in a chair close to his opened window, letting the outside breeze brush coolly against his skin.**

 **In his hand was a book that Cinder had gotten for him during one of her outings. It was a text that dealt with the most updated knowledge on the Creatures of Grimm. From what he had read so far, it was strange to him that the Grimm didn't bother him at all; especially with how depressed and angry he had been for the past week.**

 **He should've been a beacon for them with flashing lights, for goodness sake!**

"Very true, which means that something else must be at play," Weiss deduced. "And it's good that he's educating himself on what to expect in Remnant. It wouldn't do for him to be unprepared."

 **This left him with more questions, and he hoped that he would find them by the book's end. But, he still had company at the present time; company who seemed just fine with sitting silently and smirking at him with her eyes, once again, both being a bright pink.**

 **"Y'know…I'd be willing to answer any questions you might have; provided you, I don't know, _speak_?" he suggested, brow twitching minutely.**

"Interesting that the most silent of this group gets my son to speak easiest," Kushina noted in amusement.

 **Her smirk grew in amusement before she shifted herself so that her legs were out, and one of them crossed over the other. "…Depressed," she said in a rather soft tone.**

"And she's got such a nice voice too, ttebane! She doesn't even need it!" the Uzumaki added, comically dramatic.

The others couldn't help their amusement at the woman's antics.

 **He blinked in surprise at her _actually_ speaking. Granted, he never doubted that she could, but she was just so damn _quiet_ all the time! Still, he acknowledged what she had said, nodding once.**

 **"Yes, I am. I thought that should've been obvious by this point?" he asked with a raised brow.**

 **Crossing her arms, she frowned as both eyes turned brown. "Recover."**

 **"It's not that simple," he shot down, shaking his head as he set the book down on the windowsill. "I didn't just get sent away from those I loved; I failed to protect them and free them. I can't just _recover_ from something like that; not when it was my weakness that made me fail."**

"He's blaming himself for something beyond his control…" Pyrrha said sadly. "It's unjust punishment upon himself…"

 **"Get stronger," she pressed, still frowning at him. "Too weak?" she challenged, trying to get a rise out of him.**

 **"I just might be…" he sighed out, body sagging in his seat. "I don't know how to get stronger from this… I've always had my bonds with them to cherish and protect."**

 **"Still do," she assured, standing up from his bed. She walked over to him and grabbed the bottom of his chin gently, raising his gaze to meet hers while both of her eyes were now a milky white. "Not weak. Strong here," she continued, poking his chest with her free hand. She then poked his head and added, "Think too much."**

 **"…"**

 **He looked thoughtful at her words, unsure of what to do. However, it was that thoughtful expression he made that earned him another poke to the forehead.**

 **"Still thinking. Don't."**

 **"But how can I not…?" he challenged, voice showing further confusion. "How can I not think about what I failed to do?"**

 **She crouched a little, just enough for her standing posture to lower her face to his level. "Not your fault," she said softly, placing her hand on his head just like when she and Cinder first met him. She gave it a reassuring pat as her smirk returned. "You can make it right, Naruto."**

"Okay, where the hell is _this_ girl and _who_ the hell was the one that kicked my ass?" Yang asked with wide eyes, shocked at how sympathetic and supportive Neo was.

 **His blue orbs couldn't look away from her milky ones. It astounded him how this young woman – he by no means could think of her as a girl; a child – could have such an effect on him. From this brief exchange, he found himself starting to regain that spark he had lost. It wasn't a successful spark that would reignite his Will of Fire; but it was a step in the right direction.**

"I wonder if Naruto would bring out this side of her for real," Ruby mused, looking thoughtful.

 **He chuckled softly, eyes closed in resignation to her words. "…Thanks, Neo."**

 **Her smirk softened to a faint smile and she nodded. Satisfied with her own efforts, she grabbed her closed parasol from his bed and headed for the exit. She was stopped from opening the door by his voice.**

 **"Neo?" She turned around to see that he was on his feet and had moved closer to her position. He looked to be on the fence about something, which made her raise a brow to urge him on. Taking a quick breath, he held out his sole fist to her.**

"That's a surprise!" Kushina noted with slight shock.

"What's up?" Nora asked, peeking up over the book's cover.

"Naruto learned how to link his heart with someone else by bumping fists with them. It's pretty special, considering how simple the action can be."

"And he's offering it to Neo…just like that?!" Yang asked in just as much shock as Kushina.

"Looks that way. She must've made a big impression on him…"

 **This time she was confused. A fist bump? Why would he offer something like that to her? Looking back up at him, she saw he was struggling a little to keep his fist extended to her. Was this really such an important thing to him? Curiosity guiding her, she raised her own left fist and had it meet his fist.**

 **As soon as she did, she found herself completely defenseless at what had happened next.**

"She'll never look at Naruto the same after that; which is a good thing, actually," Kushina explained, smiling proudly at the man her son became.

* * *

 **"You seem to be in higher spirits today, Naruto," noted Cinder as she sat across from the blonde, once again enjoying a warm cup of tea.**

 **Naruto was holding his own cup and paused from taking a drink at her comment. "You really think so?" he asked her, setting the cup down on the coffee table between their respective couches.**

"I love my son, I really do; but he could be pretty clueless at times," groaned out Kushina, her head in her palm.

Yang snorted at that and nudged her sister. "Looks like you and Whiskers got some things in common, sis."

"Not funny…" Ruby pouted.

 **"Of course I do. You don't have as much of a depressing air about you anymore. That, and you seem a bit more…relaxed, I suppose would be the proper word. May I ask what caused this progression?"**

 **Shrugging, he gave her an oblivious look. "I wasn't aware I had changed that much."**

 **She smirked in amusement, finding his confusion enjoyable. "Can you think of nothing?" she pressed, crossing one of her legs over the other and leaning forward slightly in her seat.**

 **Scratching his head, he hummed in thought. "Nothing comes to mind. Though, I guess I did have a nice talk with Neo earlier."**

"I'm curious about what happened when she bumped his fist," Pyrrha said.

"I'm sure a future chapter will go over it," Weiss guessed.

 **That interested her. "Truly? And she _spoke_ to you?"**

 **"As much as a near-mute woman would, at any rate," he elaborated. "But still, I appreciated the talk she gave me. It made me feel a bit better, y'know?"**

 **Mentally noting to question Neo about her talk with the interesting blonde before her, Cinder nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm pleased to see that she helped you make such progress with your depression. I can only hope we'll help you make further progress."**

 **"You're starting to sound like a shrink," he commented, surprising her by the amused look he sported; even if it was rather faint.**

"He's getting better," Blake noted with a faint smile. "Slowly but surely…"

 **"Perhaps, but I'd rather not be something so simple." Her amber eyes bored into his blues, and she smirked once more. "I would rather be a more…inspiring person for you; not just someone to help you heal. Truth be told, Naruto, I find myself continuously growing more interested in you. You have such an enigmatic air about you that I can't help but want to discover what lies within those walls you have."**

 **He looked a tad uncomfortable at the almost predatory gleam in her eyes.**

"She's not even trying to hide her plans for him anymore," Ren noticed, raising a brow at the bluntness Cinder was displaying.

 **"But," she continued, letting the glow in her eyes die down, "I don't want to pressure you into something that would make you insecure around me. I'm a patient woman, Naruto; I can wait for you to find yourself more comfortable around me." She gave a soft chuckle, one that accentuated her natural beauty. "However, that doesn't mean I won't try to make you more comfortable sooner. Yes, I'm patient; but I'm also someone who knows what they want."**

"You and me both," Kushina said with a small laugh. "I was the same way when I fell in love with Minato. I was even the one who said we should get married; he just proposed since he felt obligated to."

Yang snorted at that while the rest of the girls looked amused. Ren and Jaune felt a little left out, but they were fine with it. It was a girl thing, after all.

 **He swallowed the lump in his throat. "And uh… What do you want, Cinder?" he asked, just a bit nervous.**

 **Her eyes glowed briefly once again. "I want us to grow closer," she answered, and he found himself stunned at both the simple answer and her sincerity. "That's all."**

 **He blinked at her answer. It was definitely unexpected, but he couldn't find any deception in her voice. "…Really?" he couldn't help but ask, relaxing a bit in his seat.**

"Bad move," Ren said. "He shouldn't let his guard down so quickly."

 **She mentally grinned at her small victory. "But of course. After all, something about you just draws me in. It could be your unknown origins," she slowly stood up, "your unique gift against the Grimm," she moved towards him, "your chakra compared to our Aura," she stood next to the arm of his couch, placing her hand on his resting arm, "or perhaps it's just _you_ in general. Either way, I can only hope that we'll progress our current standing further, Naruto. I look forward to seeing just how much we'll… _influence_ each other."**

"…That sounded oddly sexual," Yang noted, earning a deadpan look from Kushina.

" _Please_ don't put those kind of thoughts about my son out there…"

"Oops…" replied the blonde, rubbing her head sheepishly.

 **With her piece said, she walked off, making sure to have her fingers glide across his arm as she moved away. Out of sight from his eyes, her smirk grew full force and her eyes gleamed excitedly, nearly lighting up the halls with their glow. She had seen the consideration he tried to hide in his eyes. She just had to keep pressing forward, keep offering him a chance to find new reasons to move on while making sure that they centered around her group; and herself especially.**

 **It was inevitable in her eyes. Soon, the enticing man that she had been lucky to meet would fully join her; standing by her side as her plans came into place.**

"Overconfidence leads to failure," Weiss declared.

"Speaking from experience?" Nora teased, earning an indignant shout from the Schnee heiress.

 **And when that day came…**

 **She shivered excitedly, chuckling to herself. _'Welcome to Remnant, Naruto Uzumaki. I hope you enjoy staying here, because sooner or later…you'll be mine,'_ she mentally promised while Naruto felt a strange shiver go down his spine.**

"Like hell he will," Blake muttered, being soft enough that only Kushina could hear thanks to her shinobi training.

"Well, that's the end of the chapter," Nora declared, marking the page before closing the book. "Same time tomorrow?"

"That sounds fine, but what about Miss Uzumaki?" Jaune asked, wondering what the woman would do until then.

"Oh, you don't need to be so formal, Jaune," the woman said casually with a smile. "Just call me Kushina, and I'll be fine. Ozpin gave me a room here at the school since I'm technically a guest here."

"What room?" Ruby asked, and Kushina handed her a paper with the room number on it. "Oh! That's just down the hall from our rooms! This is great! We can talk to you about more stuff later!"

The Uzumaki woman enjoyed how excitable the young Rose was. It reminded her of how she was at that age. "I'd be happy to talk with you anytime. It could be about my home, myself, or even my son. But, don't expect me to tell you everything right away. I need to keep you all coming back for more, ttebane!"

Ruby, Yang, and Nora laughed with her while the others smiled and nodded. However, of the group as a whole, Blake was the most eager to speak with the woman; even if she hid it very well.

The book had introduced her to someone like herself, brought forth the mother of that person, and kept her wanting to learn more about him. Cats were curious things, after all.

And right now, Naruto Uzumaki had captured this Cat Faunus' curiosity.

* * *

 **Tada! Chapter Two is finished!**

 **Kushina is now a Reader! How awesome is that, huh?! ^_^**

 **Now, Teams RWBY and JNPR have a link between Remnant and the Elemental Nations! And Kushina is expecting her son at some point in the future!**

 **…**

 **…**

 **Am I the only one getting excited…? _*sweatdrops*_**

 **The pairing is chosen, by the way. Pyrrha and Jaune work, in my opinion, and I can't find it in me to split them up for a different blonde guy. So, the one for our whisker-faced hero is the Belladonna beauty, Blake!**

 **Please leave me lots of feedback and reviews, and please don't flame me! I can understand constructive criticism, but it hurts to see such blatant dislike…**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


	3. Reading Chapter 3

**Yo!**

 **Well, here we go with the next Reading Chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I, Raymond Smith, own nothing**

* * *

"I got this one!" Yang declared, taking and opening the book.

"Le gasp, Yang can read?!" Weiss said, feigning shock.

"Haha, you're hilarious," Yang drawled back sarcastically.

"Weiss!" Ruby whined.

 ** _Sackcloth and Ashes_**

 ** _Chapter Three: Unexpected Closure_**

"Closure?" Yang blinked.

"I bet it has to deal with Naruto finding something that could help him get back to the people that matter to him!" Ruby cheered hopefully.

The others all smiled and nodded at that, all of them feeling likewise.

Seeing the group of teens all so concerned for her son's happiness and welfare, Kushina was so touched and grateful to them for it. They didn't even know the real him, and they already cared for Naruto that much. As his mother, Kushina adored them all for it, and she deeply wished her son could have had the members of Teams RWBY and JNPR there to be friends with him from the start.

 **Shielding his face from the whipping wind and kicked up dust, Naruto watched as the bullhead that dropped him off ascended higher and higher. From the ajar side door, Cinder looked down at him and locked eyes with the Uzumaki, giving him a confident smirk that she knew he would be able to see.**

 **After the week of letting him adjust, Cinder had finally come up with an assignment for her newest partner. Seeing as she had been unable to fully search the ruins of Mountain Glenn thanks to being more interested in the blonde, she had decided to make use of his unique immunity to the Grimm to her advantage and have him search through the ruins alone.**

"Really starting to hate that woman," Weiss frowned.

"Five minutes and a crowbar…" Yang said, pausing in her reading with narrowed eyes at the manipulative woman's image.

Kushina hummed at the image of Yang, Cinder, and a crowbar. After a moment, she shrugged off the thought; finding it too tame for her taste.

But then again, she was known for beating bullies to bloody pulps bare-handed when she was still in the Academy. LOTS of things were "tame" in her eyes.

 **As she watched his form get smaller from her rising vantage point, the amber-eyed woman spoke up, "You and Roman know what to do, correct?"**

 **Beside her, Mercury smirked and nodded. "Yeah, we know. While blondie checks out the place, Roman and some of those White Fang members**

Blake winced at the mention of her old group aiding Cinder and her goons in their endeavors, wondering yet again just where and how things had gone so horribly wrong to make it so they shifted from being an equal rights movement to a terrorist organization.

 **will run distraction detail for those Huntsmen that are supposed to investigate what happened here a week ago."**

"I really wish that the Huntsmen from a week ago had found him as opposed to Cinder. I believe he'd be better off," Pyrrha said with a frown, the others all nodding in agreement.

 **"Good. Be sure not to be seen, Mercury. Roman is already a well-known criminal, so it isn't much of a risk to have him spotted. You, on the other hand, are _not_ identified; so keep it that way."**

"Shame WE know thanks to this book though. Suck it, baddies!" Nora taunted.

 **"Got it, Boss."**

 **Emerald was on Cinder's other side, frowning as she watched Naruto just stand in place and watch them leave. "You sure he can handle this alone?"**

 **"Mr. Uzumaki has shown himself capable of many unique different feats; including that curious golden arm that caught you by surprise," reminded Cinder, making Emerald clench her fist at the memory.**

"Somebody's got a grudge…" Jaune said.

"It's her own fault, getting him mad like she did," Weiss waved off.

As everyone else nodded, Kushina frowned. While grudges aimed at Jinchūriki weren't uncommon, they did not end well. Her son's alternate self would need to be careful around that Emerald girl.

 **"Also, I find myself…confident in him, regardless of him not showing everything he has at his disposal." She then turned her head behind her, smirking at seeing her mostly silent partner once again staring at her hands with a far-off expression. "Neo," she called out, breaking the tri-color-haired girl from her slight trance. "What do you think of Naruto's chances?"**

"As if we need to wonder about that," Jaune said.

 **Neo frowned for a moment, both eyes displaying a brown color before they turned bright pink and she smirked.**

 **"…"**

 **And once again, she said nothing; but her expression spoke for itself. She was in total confidence of Naruto.**

"Knew it…" the students all said.

"I really hope Naruto could bring out her good side for real," Ruby added.

 **Her pink orbs saw her leader nod in satisfaction before looking away, allowing Neo to look back down at her hands. In truth, she was still a bit shaken up by what had happened between her and Naruto just the other day.**

 **(Flashback)**

"Oh! It's explaining what happened when they fist-bumped!" Kushina noted with a smile.

"Already?!" Ruby exclaimed with a bright smile. "Awesome!"

 ** _"Neo?" She turned around to see that he was on his feet and had moved closer to her position. He looked to be on the fence about something, which made her raise a brow to urge him on. Taking a quick breath, he held out his sole fist to her._**

 ** _This time she was confused. A fist bump? Why would he offer something like that to her? Looking back up at him, she saw he was struggling a little to keep his fist extended to her. Was this really such an important thing to him? Curiosity guiding her, she raised her own left fist and had it meet his fist._**

 ** _As soon as she did, she found herself completely defenseless at what had happened next._**

"I'm glad this'll be explained," Blake said.

 ** _She found herself in front of a building that had young teenagers and their parents._**

"That's the training academy back home," Kushina explained. "It's where ninja hopefuls first start before becoming Genin."

 ** _She herself was under the shade of a single tree, standing next to a familiar, yet younger, whiskered blonde. She saw that he was seated on a swing, staring at the others with a mix of depression, longing, envy, and anger._**

Wincing, Kushina squirmed in her seat. It was torture for her to see her precious boy in such isolated agony.

 ** _From some of the parents, she heard mutterings of how they were relieved that he didn't pass some final exam. She also saw looks of disgust, loathing, and even some hatred aimed at the blonde_**

Blake frowned. She knew those looks. And despised them.

Kushina glared, popping her knuckles and looking furious. Damn them…

 ** _while from his shadow, she was surprised to see it take the shape of a four-pawed animal with pointed ears and multiple tails that waved erratically._**

"Kurama?" Jaune asked.

The older of the two redheads present nodded. "Kurama," she confirmed.

 ** _"I didn't think that I was still able to do this," she heard a familiar voice comment, and she turned to see the blonde that she had just been speaking with right beside her, looking at his younger self with sad nostalgia. "…I wasn't welcome in the eyes of many of the villagers back home, and it was because of something completely out of my control."_**

Blake muttered a few choice curses under her breath that only Kushina caught. It didn't surprise the Uzumaki woman that the feline Faunus loathed discrimination. As a former Jinchūriki herself, and knowing the life and burden Naruto would be forced to shoulder, Kushina was grateful. Anti-discrimination types like that were rare, yet always welcome in a person's life.

 ** _She raised a brow at his vagueness. "What do you mean?" she spoke up, before looking surprised that she did so. "Wait… Why can't I stop talking? What's going on here?"_**

 ** _"Easy," urged Naruto, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're linking together temporarily since we bumped fists."_**

 ** _"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, visibly frustrated that she couldn't stay silent._**

"She's not one for speaking, is she?" Pyrrha said.

 ** _Speaking had become such a foreign thing to her over the years._**

Pyrrha blushed and gave an awkward chuckle as her question was immediately answered. "Guess I should be more patient," she mused.

 ** _"Everything, Neo. My chakra has grown more and more potent throughout my life, and I'm able to link my soul with someone else's whenever I bump my fist with theirs; something I learned from someone similar to myself._**

The Beacon students nodded, Kushina having explained that before.

 ** _During this connection, nothing is hidden or silent from the both of us. You're seeing my memories – getting a front row seat of my life – while I can hear you without anything to hold you back. That's why you can't keep anything quiet."_**

 ** _She gave him a hard look, both eyes turning milky white. "Cut the connection; now."_**

"Somebody's mad…" Nora noted.

 ** _"I will; but I wanted you to see something first," he stated, waving his hand and shifting the scenery to that of the village from the view of the Hokage Mountain. The village itself was under attack, and a massive beast with nine tails was seen causing havoc. "That is Kurama, a Tailed Beast that was sealed into me on the very night I was born."_**

"Wait…what?! That thing's massive! How could…?!" Jaune sputtered.

 ** _She watched with some fear at how massive and destructive Kurama was, the blood red eyes gleaming in the firelight of the damaged village._**

"THAT was crammed into your kid?!" Yang yelped, wide-eyed just like the other students.

"I was against it, but my husband argued that it was important for Naruto to have Kurama sealed within him," Kushina explained with a slight snarl. It was the one time she'd honestly hated Minato wanting to look out for everyone around him. She felt that their family should've come before the village that night.

"And with how that went…" Blake trailed off with a wince, sympathy going out for how Naruto was scapegoated for Kurama's attack.

 ** _A slight tremble crawled down her spine, and she took an involuntary step back. "W…Why show me this?"_**

 ** _"I feel something from you, Neo…" he confessed, letting the scene keep playing. "Something that I believe is somewhat akin to myself." He looked down at her, and she turned to look back up at him. "You were lonely, weren't you? Filled with a deep pain that you couldn't bottle down entirely and because of something you couldn't control?"_**

"That's a landmine he just stepped on…" Ren said, frowning at his own depressing past. Nora noticed and reached over, grabbing her best friend's hand and squeezing it gently. The two shared a sad smile before returning their attention to the story.

 ** _She took another step back, but this time it was away from him. "What are you talking about?"_**

 ** _His eyes portrayed sympathy and understanding; both of which being far more sincere than anyone else had tried to show her. "I was feared and left alone because of Kurama, who only attacked because of someone that was manipulated through their pain and hate. Since the night I was born, I was seen as a reminder of loss, pain, and sadness; not as Naruto Uzumaki."_**

Everyone winced at that while Kushina fought down a dry sob.

 ** _The scenery changed again, and it showed a young girl in rags with tri-colored hair and mismatching eyes. She was seen hugging herself with a tattered blanket while her power was going rampant. All around her, people backed away in fear of Grimm that stood around her defensively; but both Naruto and Neo knew that the Grimm weren't really there._**

"So Neo has an illusion Semblance, then. And she was feared because she had trouble controlling it until Torchwick swooped in and drafted her as his minion…" Pyrrha cringed. She was always careful with her own Semblance, not wanting to go too far for fear that she could hurt someone.

"No wonder she works for the guy. Creep's probably the only one that treated her well…" Yang winced. She found it hard to be upset at the silent girl any longer from the beating Neo gave her from before.

"People are drawn to kindness, and there are those that use that fact to manipulate others…" Blake said, eyes narrowing and her fists clenched. That was something she found especially twisted and cruel.

 ** _Neo looked at her younger self, seeing the pain and loneliness in her other's eyes. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't find the strength to turn away; to bury the painful memory so deep that it would never resurface again._**

 ** _"Stop it…" she begged, her voice whispery. "I can't watch anymore… Please…"_**

The readers all squirmed, feeling this part was something they shouldn't be learning about. It seemed cruel to see it but not do anything to help; even if it was just a memory.

 ** _Looking at her sadly, Naruto cut off the image and the two found themselves back in his room at the base, their fists no longer connected. "Neo…" he spoke up, but she was still in shock at the memory. "Neo, look at me," he tried again, this time a bit firmer._**

 ** _There was some hesitation, but she turned to him and he saw that she was close to tears. "…why…?" she choked out. "What do you want from me?"_**

 ** _Slowly, he raised his hand up and reached out to her, placing his palm on her head before gently, soothingly brushing his fingers through the strands of her hair and stopping on her cheek beneath her right eye._**

 ** _"…I want nothing from you, Neo. I just thought you'd like to know that you're not as alone as you thought," he answered, his tone showing sincerity. "I also wanted to thank you for helping me start to recover." With his thumb, he brushed the tear that started to roll down. "I want to help you do the same; but only if you'll let me. If you keep helping me, then I'll keep helping you… I promise."_**

"So _THAT'S_ the real Naruto Uzumaki, huh?" Ruby said in awe, before turning to see Kushina wipe her eyes, "You should be proud. He's a good person," the cloaked girl said softly with a smile.

"I know; that's why I'm crying. I'm just so proud of the man my son has become…" the woman replied.

Ruby nodded, understanding completely and happy about it. If Naruto ever made his way to Beacon, she couldn't wait to meet him in person if he was really this way. As for the version of her in the story, she had better help heal Naruto's heart as best she could and help protect Naruto's goodness; this Ruby swore.

 ** _Her eyes, both still being milky white, locked with his blue orbs and she saw absolute sincerity in them. Her cheek felt warm against his hand, her heart echoed in her chest, and her lips slowly curved at the corners into a faint – almost invisible – smile._**

"Crush confirmed," Yang noted with a grin, her friends nodding. However, the blonde was able to see that her partner didn't seem all that happy about it; which made her smirk behind the book.

 ** _She raised up her right hand to grasp his left, moving it away from her cheek as her eyes turned pink. "…thank you," she whispered before leaving the room, knowing that she found someone that she could finally start to trust with her real self; with the Neo that she tried so hard to keep buried. As she reached the door, she looked back one last time and gave him her signature smirk before she walked away, letting the door close softly behind her._**

 **(Flashback End)**

 **A faint smile was on her face as she clenched one of her fists. Yes, she had total confidence in Naruto; for more than one reason.**

Everyone smiled at that.

* * *

 **Walking down the ruined asphalt streets of Mountain Glenn, Naruto took note of the Grimm moving about as if they were in a natural habitat. The Beowolves traveled in groups of two to three, much like natural wolves tended to do in the wild. Creeps, who he had read took on lizard like characteristics, moved on their own, keeping their senses sharp as they moved about the city while he spotted a single Goliath, which looked like an elephant, on the outskirts, moving _away_ from the ruins.**

"I find myself worried about just where that Goliath could be going…" Ren muttered.

 **"Odd," he muttered, brushing past a pair of Beowolves as he entered one of the ruined buildings. The Grimm gave soft growls as he passed before they began to tail him, as if they were Naruto's personal guards.**

"No matter how much I see the Grimm acting out of character like that around him, it doesn't get any less weird seeing it…" Jaune muttered, everyone else with the exception of Kushina nodding.

 **The Uzumaki looked around the abandoned building sadly, sympathy showing on his face for the people who had been forced to leave their homes. Turning to the Grimm, he mused aloud, "What made you all do this?"**

"He's actually asking them?" Weiss gasped out, shocked Naruto was speaking to the Grimm.

"He's the Grimm Whisperer!" Nora lowly said in at attempt to sound mysterious.

 **The Beowolves tilted their heads at his question before they growled once more, as if trying to answer.**

"GAH!" The young group of Hunters and Huntresses in training all gaped at that.

"Okay… THAT was weird!" Yang cried out. "Naruto talking to Grimm is shocking enough, but them trying to ANSWER BACK?!"

 **They then turned and left the building, and Naruto decided to follow them. For a few blocks, the two Grimm just took point, seemingly knowing just where they wanted to lead him to. However, they soon stopped in the middle of a four-way intersection and turned to face the blonde.**

 **Once he was standing right in front of them, he looked around and saw nothing new compared to everything else he had seen. He peered into the buildings from the street, but saw nothing of interest before he turned back to the Grimm, only to see them heading off in separate directions.**

"Brain malfunctioning due to Grimm weirdness!" Ruby cried, hands gripping the sides of her head. Geez, was this how Penny felt when things didn't make sense to her?!

 **"Great," he muttered. "Now what?"**

"Well…knowing how things go wrong when somebody asks that…" Jaune trailed off.

 **As if the universe wanted to answer him, he felt the ground shift beneath him as soon as he finished that query. Before he could even utter a curse, the intersection caved in beneath him and he fell into a deep cavern underground. From his falling point of view, he saw more ruined buildings and even some tracks that held an inoperable train (due to the extensive visible damage he had seen).**

Team RWBY frowned, recalling how that underground train station had played a role in the Breach.

 **Just before he reached impact with the ground below, he formed a clone beneath him and kicked off of it, landing on top of one of the shorter buildings.**

Blake blinked at that before pouting. She wished her copies could allow her to do that, but it seemed Naruto's were actually solid. Lucky…

 **Once he was on solid ground, he took a more inspective look at his surroundings. To his curiosity, he saw no Grimm at all; not even a simple Beowolf that proved to be the most common of the masked creatures.**

 **Looking back up to where he fell, he estimated the distance and frowned. "No way am I getting up there in one jump." He looked to the rocky walls of the cavernous city. "I should be able to walk out without any trouble. But, if anything, I'll just use Chakra Mode and fly out."**

"Wait a minute…" Jaune started with an amazed look. "Did he just say he could fly?!"

"If it makes you feel any better, he wasn't able to do that until the war," Kushina supplied.

"Okay, what CAN'T this guy do?!" the Arc demanded.

 **He then moved to the edge of the roof he was on, looking down. "Now, what exactly should I look for in a place like this?"**

 **Deciding not to waste any more time, he leapt down from the roof and landed on the road, his feet making hardly any sound upon impact thanks to his training. His eyes were narrowed slightly, and his body was tense and ready to act if need be. From what he could feel, the place seemed to be abandoned; but he knew that looks could be deceiving.**

"That is true," Ren nodded.

 **So, forming a clone, he had it stand still and gather natural energy.**

"What does that mean; natural energy?" Weiss asked.

Kushina shrugged. "I'm not sure, exactly. I never had a need for it; so I can't explain it to you," she admitted.

 **It didn't take much time before it dispelled and Naruto felt his chakra harmonize with the energy gathered by his clone. With Sage Mode, his sensory capabilities were enhanced greatly, and he felt the multitude of Grimm above him as they moved throughout the city above.**

"I swear this guy's abilities are so hacks…" Jaune muttered.

"Think he uses cheat codes?" Nora asked jokingly, earning amused looks from Ruby and Yang.

 **However, there was a single life force that he was able to sense that was somewhere within the underground city.**

"Huh?" the reading group all wondered.

 **Turning to one of the larger buildings, he focused his senses on that life force and felt it moving cautiously towards him. He frowned at this, creating another clone to act as a decoy while he followed from a safe distance.**

 **For many tense minutes, Naruto kept a lock on the approaching signature while keeping visual contact with his duplicate. When he felt the signature right on top of his clone, he caught a glimpse of black before his copy was tugged behind a corner. The clone did nothing to retaliate since Naruto wanted to see who was hiding out in a place like this.**

"So he used his clone as bait to draw out who it was. Smart…" Blake praised with a small smile.

Yang snickered. She was SO going to tease her partner about this later! She then turned back to the book and her eyes widened.

"No way…" she whispered, then quickly began reading, growing paler with each word.

 **When he moved to a better position, he was slightly surprised to see a masked woman with black hair that reached her backside and skittered downward like some ruffled feathers. She was dressed in a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads around her neck, a red girdle-belt around her abdomen, and a pair of matching gauntlets. An object that looked to be made from feathers hung from the right side of her skirt and her black, thigh-length boots looked to be styled with a red splatter pattern. Her most distinctive feature was a fearsome, full-face mask that resembled the face of a Creature of Grimm. The mask had four eye slits, further enhancing the inhuman presence that the woman appeared to be going for.**

Yang, recognizing the description, almost dropped the book in shock. _'HER?! What is she doing here?!'_ Yang thought in shock as she started shaking.

"Yang…?" Ruby asked worriedly, seeing her sibling's reaction. The other teens also looked to the female blonde with concern in their eyes.

Seeing how the girl was reacting, Kushina narrowed her eyes in contemplation. Whoever that woman was, Yang's reaction pointed to the two of them having some sort of connection.

Seeing as Yang wasn't in a real condition to continue, Kushina reached over and grabbed the book before she resumed the reading.

 ** _'There's some red mixed into her hair,'_ he absently noted, finding the highlight an enhancement to the woman's appeal. A part of him blamed his father for it, but he felt drawn to hair that held some semblance of red in it.**

Kushina saw Ruby and Pyrrha both grab some of their hair at that, looking embarrassed. She also noted how Blake was sending them both a narrowed look, making her hold back a laugh. Based on that alone, she could tell that the young Faunus girl was feeling something strong for her boy.

 **His eyes also took note that her red sword was of the ōdachi – or great sword – class and was twice the length of her sheath. Said sheath also held a rotary chamber filled with various colors. _'That's those "Dust Crystal" things that Cinder told me about…'_**

"That is a LOT of Dust," Pyrrha noted. "What could she need it all for?"

"And where on earth did she get it all?" Weiss added with narrowed eyes.

 **"Talk," ordered the woman, holding her blade to his clone's throat. "What is a civilian doing here?"**

 **To her surprise, the young man she had gotten the drop on disappeared in a burst of smoke. She bit back a curse as she held her blade close, ready to act in an instant like she had trained many years to do.**

Yang couldn't help but frown at the woman's image. She had a strong feeling who it was, and she knew she wouldn't get another opportunity like this anytime soon.

 **So, when she felt someone behind her, she immediately reacted and turned with a deadly swing of her blade. But the blade was easily caught within the serrated edge of a knuckle duster that was wielded by the same blonde that she thought she had. His eyes were no longer the strange yellow that she had noted before and were instead a crystalline blue, like the ocean. The only other features she found noteworthy about him were the whisker markings on his cheeks and the fact that he only had one full arm while the other was missing from the elbow down.**

"Yellow eyes?" Blake repeated. "His eyes change?"

"I'm guessing it has to do with gathering natural energy," Kushina assumed.

 **"Relax," he said, easily holding back her blade with his smaller weapon that Neo had given him. "I'm not here to start anything."**

 **"What's a Faunus doing here?" she shot back, her voice calm and steady.**

"Just because my son has whisker markings doesn't mean he's a-" Kushina began before she took a moment to think about it clearly. "Actually…he could pass off as a Faunus if he wanted to. It wouldn't exactly be lying either…"

"Why's that?" Nora asked.

"His whisker markings were there before Kurama was even sealed within him. They're genetic traits he can pass onto his children," explained the Uzumaki.

"And since they're animalistic traits, he could technically be a Faunus," Blake finished with a faint smile. The way she saw it, it was another way she could connect with the blonde Uzumaki if they ever met.

 **"Is the White Fang looking for more places to inhabit?"**

 **"Faunus?" Naruto asked back, showing genuine confusion. "Sorry lady, but I don't know what you're talking about. I've never heard of Faunus or this White Fang. The only White Fang I know of is the late father of my sensei."**

"The White Fang was the name of Sakumo Hatake," Kushina informed the others. "He was a strong and loyal ninja of the Hidden Leaf who once chose to abandon a mission to save his comrades. However, he was dishonored because of that decision and treated like a traitor by the village; eventually committing suicide to atone for it."

"That's…awful," whispered Ruby, feeling horrified at what the man had been put through after saving his team.

"Yes, it is. But, the man left a legacy in the form of an ideal. And that ideal was _Those who break the rules are scum. But those who forsake their comrades are below even that_."

Seeing the smile she directed at Naruto during that quote, Blake asked, "Does Naruto follow that ideal?"

Kushina smiled brighter and answered, "He lived by it every day since hearing it."

 ** _'Sensei? That means teacher, if I recall. He uses terms from an older language so easily, like he's spoken with them his entire life.'_**

"Old langauge?" Weiss repeated. "Does this mean that Naruto could actually be in-?"

"The future?" Yang finished, turning her attention to Kushina.

The woman just smiled and shrugged. "Space and time are very touchy subjects, aren't they?"

The question was enough to answer the two teams.

 **Her blood red eyes narrowed behind her mask. _'He also doesn't look like he has any idea what I'm talking about. Where the hell has this fool been staying; under a rock?'_**

 **"Look, can we please just put away our weapons and talk like reasonable people?" he suggested. "I didn't want to pick any fights here; especially when I know that Grimm aren't the only things living in this place."**

 **"How do you know of this place?" she ordered, not making any moves to back down. "Who sent you here?"**

"Someone who wants to use him," hissed out Blake.

 **He sighed at her questions. "You really won't just calm down, will you? Are you just itching for a fight or something?"**

 **In truth, the woman actually was feeling a bit restless as of late. While she could've hunted down Grimm, it got rather bothersome really quickly; especially with how predictable they could be sometimes. On the other hand, fighting someone else; no matter if they were a human or a Faunus? Now _that_ was far more enticing.**

 _'So, that's where I get it from,'_ mused Yang, not sure if she should be happy about that realization.

 **"Maybe I am," she replied with a hidden smirk before sliding the edge of her sword through the crevice it was held back in, freeing it for her to quickly move in for a deadly swing. She wasn't even surprised when she saw him evade it by bending his body backward just enough for her weapon to move over him safely. "Care to indulge me, kid?" she taunted, feeling a tingle go down her spine at the potential fight.**

 **Sighing again, Naruto said nothing and instead just put away his weapon. "I'd rather not," he answered after his knife was fully sheathed.**

"Oh, that was the worst thing to do," Pyrrha commented with a wince, knowing that it would be taken as an insult by the mystery woman.

 **This ended up being the wrong response, because the masked woman took it as an insult and charged, her sword blazing with Fire Dust mid-swing as she closed in on the damnable blonde. With a flurry of slashes, she attempted to make him answer for the blow to her pride; a smirk forming beneath her mask as she saw him redraw his knife to catch her blade and deflect it away from himself.**

 **Following a wider than intended swing, that the Uzumaki dodged by leaning back, the woman moved with her momentum and went for a spinning kick that was blocked by the blonde's forearm. She gasped when something flashed through her head upon contact.**

"Uh-oh," Ruby whispered, having an idea of what was going to happen.

* * *

 ** _"You'll still believe in what Jiraiya-sensei spoke of? After all that has happened? After so much death? After everything I've done to you?" a redheaded man who looked incredibly emaciated asked of a whiskered blonde teen._**

"This is…" Weiss began with wide eyes.

"It's one of my son's memories," confirmed Kushina.

 ** _His face shifted from incredulity to rage. "Do you expect us to wait for you to bring peace when there is so much pain?! Face it; peace is impossible!"_**

 ** _"Then, if there's such a thing as peace, I'll find it!_**

The raw determination in his voice and face caused the readers to unconsciously back away from the image on the screen. It was intense enough to stun them into silence.

 ** _I'll break the cycle of hatred and pain by carrying it for everyone else! I'll help people so that they won't have to feel pain anymore!" Raising his fist up to face the redhead, the blonde declared, "I'll never give up, and I won't go back on my word!"_**

 ** _Purple eyes with ringed pupils widened at that, recognition and shock shining in them. Beside him, a blue haired woman with a paper flower in her hair looked just as surprised. The whole time, the blonde held a look of unbreakable, unwavering determination and the aura of a leader radiated from him._**

"He really lives up to his namesake," Kushina noted softly, feeling immense pride for her son that was named after a storybook character. It was the only book that Jiraiya had made that she thoroughly enjoyed, and it made her happy to have named her boy after the leading role.

* * *

 ** _'What was that?'_ she thought in confusion before refocusing on the fight.**

 **Unknown to her, Naruto had seen something as well. And what he saw marred his face with a frown.**

* * *

 ** _The woman glared at a blonde dressed in light armor._**

"Dad?!" Ruby exclaimed in shock, recognizing the man onscreen.

"Dammit," cursed Yang softly, knowing the identity of the woman without a doubt at this point.

 ** _"Think about it, Taiyang! If they lash out at anything negative, then why do they go after humans unless humans are actually inherently evil?!"_**

 ** _Taiyang let out an aggravated sigh. Things had just kept going downhill ever since Summer had died._**

Ruby stiffened at this, having never fully gotten over her mother's death. Yang saw this and moved over to sit closer to her sister, being there for support.

 ** _Since then, Raven had come to accept a belief that humans were detestable things of war, segregation, hatred, and death; preaching that they were civil, yet slaughtered anything – even one another – for the slightest reason._**

"The sad thing is…that kind of mindset isn't all that untrue," Ren noted sadly. "Humanity is the cruelest race in the world, and we can't blame it on intincts like we do for animals and Grimm…"

The other teens all looked down at that, unable to find an argument for it.

 ** _He didn't like such a cold, cynical, nihilistic, and misanthropic worldview; but Raven insisted that, other than what the setting, clothing, and level of technology was, human nature had not really changed from when they were violence-addicted savages living in caves. As far as Raven viewed things, the Grimm were basically White Blood Cells trying to purge an illness from a body._**

 ** _The world, Remnant, being the body, and humanity being the illness._**

"Okay, that's beyond morbid," Weiss stated with a frown. "It's like we're nothing more than a plague in her eyes."

"She isn't the only one who thinks that way," Kushina informed. "There were plenty of people seen as mad or insane who saw the world that way; and it was mainly denial from the populace that earned those _madmen_ those labels."

 ** _"Raven…you're being unreasonable…" Taiyang said in response._**

 ** _"Unreasonable?!" Raven snapped, furious at what he had just said. "Why; because I'm not stupidly, blindly giving undeserved faith to humanity?! With humans, and even Faunus, it's always the same shit but a different era! They constantly repeat the same self-destructive patterns over and over! They've only lasted this long because vermin are so damn hard to get rid of!"_**

 ** _"You're talking like you're not human yourself…" he pointed out with a frown._**

 ** _"Believe me, I wish that I wasn't…" she fired back, turning away from him._**

Yang couldn't believe that THIS was the woman she was so desperate to meet. It was such a blow to one of the biggest goals in her life.

 ** _"Are you even listening to yourself?! Raven…is this really the kind of example you want yourself to set for our daughter?" Taiyang asked._**

 ** _That was the wrong thing to say, and he knew it as soon as he left his lips. In the time it took for him to even blink, the end of her sword's scabbard was buried in his gut before he was flipped over and slammed onto the ground. The next thing he knew after the unexpected attack was the tip of Raven's unsheathed ōdachi hovering ominously over his throat._**

"Dad!" both daughters of Taiyang exclaimed in shock, Yang's eyes glaring bloody red at her mother's image.

 ** _Glaring down at the man before her, Raven hesitated before she shook her head in disgust. "You're so naïve to everything that it's revolting… So much that it's not even worth putting you out of your misery…" she stated, clicking her teeth in annoyance before sheathing her sword and turning as a red-black portal opened up in front of her._**

 ** _With nothing left to say to him, she entered it and never looked back._**

Her eyes returning to their natural lilac shade, Yang stared at the image of her disappearing mother with immense disbelief. _'Mom… Why?'_

* * *

 ** _'Damn,'_ he mentally cursed. _'It's not just when I bump fists with people,'_ he deduced, forcing his body to evade more than guard. _'I can still link my soul with others when in combat!'_**

"Not good," Jaune noted with a frown.

 **"Stop dodging and _fight_ , dammit!" roared the woman as she began using Wind Dust to extend the reach of her longsword even further. "RAGH!" she cried, bringing her sword down for a bisecting slash.**

 **Her eyes widened behind her mask when she saw him easily catch her weapon again with his; but his knife's edge also had an extended wind blade. The surprising part about it was that it was there without any use of Dust.**

"Wind Chakra?" Weiss asked, remembering what Kushina had said before about elemental affinities.

"Correct."

 ** _'Is that his Semblance?'_ she thought before wincing when another vision forced itself into her mind.**

* * *

 ** _"There are three words I say to people who compliment my hair," a stunning redheaded woman said softly to the whiskered blonde, a loving smile gracing her face as her long tresses curled around her. The space around them looked to be bathed with warm golden light, as if it were a dreamscape safe from the harshness of reality._**

All of the teens turned to the woman in question, only to see her fighting back tears at what they were seeing. So, they stayed silent and just watched.

 ** _"Oh yeah?" asked the teen, a grin on his face. "And what's that, mom?"_**

 ** _Her smile grew more loving, if that was even possible, as she stated, "I love you."_**

 ** _His grin fell for a look of shock before it returned with a vengeance while he rubbed his head bashfully._**

Kushina was wiping her tears, overcome with emotion at seeing how three simple words sparked such a reaction from her precious child.

 ** _"So, what do you get when a child is born from the Yellow Flash and the Red Habanero?" she asked with a grin that matched – or most likely sired – his own._**

 ** _Standing up proudly, he held onto his orange and black jacket and stretched it outwards slightly. "You get the Leaf's Orange Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki!" he declared with pride._**

 ** _The teen's mother gave a content laugh at that, making the whole scene all the more heartwarming._**

It was hard for the Remnant inhabitants not to tear up at the heartfelt moment; especially for Team RWBY.

For Ruby, it made her imagine what it would've been like for her if her mother had still lived. Such thoughts were bittersweet, but the bitterness was slowly fading away.

For Weiss, she mused thoughts of what her life would've been like without the Schnee name being so significant. She couldn't help but imagine it to be much more enjoyable, but she knew that she wouldn't have met her friends if her life had been any different.

For Blake, it reminded her of her parents back home and how they had always loved and supported her before she ran off with Adam and the White Fang. Guilt and shame filled her, and she mentally made plans to finally get back in touch with her family, if for no other reason than to say how much they meant to her.

As for Yang, she felt happy for and jealous of Naruto. She could sympathize with him not having a mother, but she was jealous that the one who gave birth to him was so loving and supportive; unlike Raven was for her. It was hard for her to see such genuine love between a mother and child with such bitter thoughts about her own mother.

* * *

 ** _'W…What the hell is this?'_ she thought in frustration as she stumbled back, her mind starting to have trouble keeping pace with her body.**

* * *

 ** _" Prepare to fire," the Atlas robots said, taking aim at a group of Faunus who were members of the pacifist White Fang, those who wanted rights and equality for their kind. After all, it wasn't their faults they had animal features, so why were they denied being treated the same as others?_**

"Damn right," Blake agreed wholeheartedly.

 ** _Yet there they were, lined up in front of a firing squad of unfeeling automatons, going to be put to death because they had a protest rally outside of Atlas's capital, wanting to know why they weren't allowed their freedom and rights._**

"Dear Oum," uttered Weiss, her voice soft as she saw what her homeland was going to do to peaceful protesters.

 ** _The sight sickened Raven to her core and she looked to her partner and best friend. Said partner was a young woman dressed in a white hooded cloak that covered a red-black corset and a skirt. She had silver eyes, a pale complexion, and black and red hair. A double-bladed polearm – one that Raven personally knew could convert to a sniper rifle – was slung across her back._**

 ** _"Summer…"_**

"Mom," whispered Ruby, her eyes watering as she saw the woman's image. A smile was on the girl's face as she saw her mother about to perform an act of good that she too wouldn't hesitate to do.

Yang was silent as she saw the closeness between her's and Ruby's mothers. They were partners; best friends, as quoted just a moment ago. She never believed she would see this between the two mother figures in her life.

 ** _she started to say, but her partner cut her off._**

 ** _"You don't need to say a word…" Summer's silver eyes narrowed and her fingers were twitching dangerously. Raven saw that it was taking all her friend's self-control and training as a Huntress to keep from whipping out Lunar Flora, her weapon, and going on a berserker rampage._**

"Looks like you got your naming skills from her," Blake noted, sending Ruby a smile. "You look a lot like her too."

"Thanks," the young team leader replied softly, sending her Faunus teammate a smile in return.

 ** _Raven felt the same urge to do so with her own weapon; especially seeing as their old friend Plissé Scarlatina was in the firing line._**

"Scarlatina… Wasn't that the last name of the rabbit Faunus girl that Cardin was bullying?" Pyrrha asked her friends.

"Yeah, it was," Jaune answered with a scowl, still feeling angry at himself for how he acted when Cardin was blackmailing him.

 ** _"You go high, I go low," Raven suggested, and Summer nodded in agreement. Creeping away from their cover, the two moved into position. They had to be very careful with this._**

 ** _As Raven got as close as she could without being detected, she caught sight of a quick gleam from above in the very edge of her peripheral vision. 'Good,' she thought to herself. 'Summer's in place.'_**

 ** _And just in time, too._**

"Kick their butts, mom!" Ruby cheered out, relieving the others at her natural attitude returning.

It was hard to see her being so reserved and solemn.

 ** _" Readying armor-piercing, explosive rounds," the lead Atlesian Knight said._**

 ** _"NOW!" Raven cried, drawing her blade as it flicked through Dust attributes – Wind, Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Gravity. Switching to the last one, she stabbed her blade into the ground, where a gravity well was formed and produced a heavy pressure into the area, sending everyone to their hands and knees before a shot rang out and the head of the commander robot was blown off and leaving the rest of Atlesian Knight Robots suddenly without a lead unit._**

"Nice!" Yang couldn't help but exclaim, eager to see two Huntresses in action; even if one was her her estranged mother and the other was lost to her after filling the void.

 ** _As Raven undid the gravity well she created, she rushed forward, her blade flashing as she cut through metal and circuitry while a familiar polearm was thrown from on high and impaled another Knight before Summer dropped down and retrieved her weapon, tearing the robot apart by doing so. Her silver eyes flashed for a moment as the two Huntresses proceeded to make short work of the Atlas automatons before Summer turned to the group of gob-smacked Faunus._**

 ** _"Don't just lie there; RUN!" she bellowed._**

"Seriously? Why would they just wait there?!"Nora cried out.

 ** _The Faunus didn't need to be told twice and they all bolted. Summer and Raven hurried along with them, knowing reinforcements would be arriving soon._**

 ** _After "borrowing" a Bullhead, the group crossed the border and flew all the way to, what they were told by Plissé, the "Faunus safe haven" of Vacuo, seeing as the only "real" rule there was that those who were able to survive in Vacuo were welcome; regardless of background._**

 ** _"Thank you both for helping us," Plissé said as the Faunus disembarked._**

"People like them are what we need," Blake noted. "Ones who look past race and do what's right; no matter the consequences."

"Normally, I'd be upset at their reckless destruction of Atlas property," Weiss added. "However, now I can only be thankful that they stopped wanton murder of innocent protesting."

The Schnee and Faunus girls shared a look and gave one another small smiles. Bridges were slowly being mended through them.

 ** _One of the others looked at her in shock. "What?! You're thanking them?! They're humans! I bet that they're just like the ones that were gonna have those damned tin men kill us all!"_**

Everyone frowned at that.

 ** _"So what if I am thanking them?!" fired back Plissé. "Same race, different individuals! Just because these two are human doesn't mean anything! They chose to help us because they wanted to do what was right! If you're gonna be a racist bigot and turn on our rescuers because of things they can't help, then it seems to me you and the ones that ordered to have us all shot have more in common than you think! Because of them, I have a real chance of going back home and letting my daughter be born!"_**

"Damn…" the teens all commented, amazed at the tirade that Velvet's mother gave her fellow Faunus.

 ** _The Faunus didn't seem to care about that as he yelled, "Shut it, human-lover!"_**

 ** _"So you hate the ones who we owe our lives to?! Just like that?" another Faunus snapped incredulously, taking Plissé's side._**

 ** _Before long the Faunus were all shouting, some angry towards humans, while others were upset with their fellows who were treating Summer and Raven with hostility. Both human women watched on in disappointment, seeing the hatred that had only grown stronger over the years in the eyes of many of them._**

 ** _Turning to her friend, Raven knew that Summer wanted to change things._**

"I do too," Ruby declared with a bright smile.

 ** _Raven wanted to as well, but she knew that such an idea would take a very long time to make a reality._**

 ** _She doubted anyone had the patience, or even the skills, to see it through to the end._**

"A pessimist to the end, eh mom?" Yang asked rhetorically, not caring at how her friends looked to her in shock at her admission. She figured they would learn eventually, so it was better for them to learn from her mouth than from some book.

* * *

 ** _'Goddammit… Just what the hell is wrong with this place?'_ Naruto thought, seeing a rather darker part of the life that this woman – who he now knew was named Raven Branwen – lived through.**

"He's not happy," Jaune noted.

"Not surprising," Kushina replied. "Naruto never liked seeing how ugly the world was and strove to change things. His actions in the war were testament to that self-imposed mission."

 **"Whatever the hell you're doing, Naruto Uzumaki…" began Raven, using the name she learned from the visions as she clashed with him again, cringing at yet another vision.**

* * *

 ** _"Let's go, guys!" roared the Uzumaki, bathed in golden energy_**

"Whoa... What's that power?" Nora asked.

"That would be my son's full power given to him by the Old Sage and the Bijuu trusting him to do what's right."

 ** _as he held out his right hand towards a regal woman with long white hair, three eyes, and horns on her head._**

"And that," continued Kushina, "is Kaguya, the mother of the Old Sage that tried to take away the world's chakra for herself."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked. "Wouldn't that kill everyone in your world?"

"Yes, but she felt that chakra was hers alone, according to Hagoromo."

 ** _On the palm of said hand was a white sun marking._**

 ** _On the other side of her, a black haired teen stretched out his left hand which held a black moon marking on it. His mismatching eyes were narrowed as both he and the golden blonde closed in on the woman._**

"Right there is Sasuke Uchiha, who Naruto saw as his best friend and brother figure; despite all that Sasuke had done to him."

The others cringed at the memory of an almost emotionally broken Naruto.

 ** _Said woman, tried to evade by flying upwards, but she was caught off guard when a pinkette young woman descended from above her, fist emblazoned with blue aura as it bashed the regal woman on the head._**

"Rounding up the people onscreen is Sakura Haruno, the last member of Team 7 and someone my son had a crush on for a long time before those feelings became platonic in nature."

"That's a lot of power in her fist," Ruby noted, staring at the raging aura of blue chakra flaring out from Sakura's clenched hand.

 ** _The force of the blow pushed her back down, just in time for both young men to place their marked palms on her body._**

 ** _As one, they both roared, "_ _Six Paths: Planetary Devastation_ _!"_**

 ** _The next thing Raven saw was the woman being encased in a large sphere that rose upwards and became the newest moon._**

"Holy hell," Yang breathed out, and Ruby was so equally amazed that she didn't bother to reprimand her elder sister for her language.

* * *

 **"…make it stop!" she finished, growing more furious at being unable to understand the situation. _'Who the hell are you?!'_ she raged inside her head.**

"You'll know by the time your fight's finished, Raven," Kushina promised the woman onscreen.

* * *

 ** _Raven trailed behind her white cloaked friend from a safe, undetectable distance. When she had heard about Summer's latest assignment from her network, she immediately made plans to watch over the mission personally._**

"Thank you, Raven," Ruby thanked, happy to see that her mother had someone watching her back. Yang wasn't sure how to react to her little sister thanking someone like her mother like that.

 ** _Was it paranoia? Perhaps, but there was something about these guys that just rubbed her the wrong way, and as a Huntress, she'd honed her danger-perception instincts to an insane degree. Besides, Summer was her best friend; hell, they were practically family to one another._**

"Family, huh?" scoffed Yang, bitterness in her tone.

 ** _It was Raven's duty to look out for Summer, as far as the bird themed woman was concerned._**

 ** _More importantly, Summer had a family waiting back home for her. She needed to go back to them; even if it was with the man Raven had called naïve and left with her daughter._**

That made Yang blink in surprise. _'Wait… So you left me with Dad…but you supported him and Summer getting together? I don't get it…'_

 ** _Team DOPE (David, Oswald, Patrick and Edgar)_**

Ruby couldn't help but snicker at that, making Weiss roll her eyes while everyone else looked amused.

 ** _was who Summer was working with, and needless to say, there was something about them that rubbed Raven the wrong way. Hence why she was trailing her friend._**

 ** _The mission was simple; get in, extinguish the Grimm inside of the mines, and get out. Easy on paper; but Raven knew better than to not expect trouble, even on simple assignments. She was a firm believer of "if something bad can happen, there's a good chance that it WILL happen"._**

"I can't tell if she's a realist or a pessimist," Ren commented.

 ** _Part of her wanted to go back in time and slap the shit out of the founder of such a belief. Murphy, she believed his name was…_**

"Yep," the readers all deadpanned, feeling like Raven did about the man and wanting to slap him.

 ** _Shaking her head to clear her drifting thoughts, she refocused on keeping an eye on Summer and the three members of Team DOPE that were with her. David, Patrick, and Edgar were with her while Oswald was told to hang back; due to being the team's sharpshooter with his sniper rifle._**

 ** _That was the biggest red flag in Raven's mind. Summer was damn hawkeyed with her own sniper; so she should've been allowed to hang back as well. So, why was she being put on the frontline?_**

"I don't like this," Jaune commented with a deep frown.

 ** _Frowning, Raven turned to the small black bird of the same name on her shoulder. With a nod of her head in Summer's direction, she gave the avian its order and the bird took off. Like Qrow, Raven always had a distinct connection with the black carrion birds, and she liked to use them as scouts, spies, or even foragers when she was out in the wilds._**

"Cool," Nora noted with a grin.

 ** _With her partner tailing Summer, Raven moved over to Oswald's position; having overheard it when she set her radio frequency to the one Team DOPE and Summer were using. Standing at the base of the tree he was stationed in, Raven scowled as she looked up and easily spotted him, even though the snow-covered branches mostly hid him from sight._**

 ** _With deathly quiet movement, Raven moved up to another tree that was behind his sight range and pulled out a scope, looking downhill at the entrance of the mine. She saw her avian friend even through the cover of night, and a frown marred her face as she saw that Summer was taking the lead into the mines._**

Realization flashed in Kushina's eyes at the significance of the memory, and she mentally sent Ruby her condolences before she resumed reading.

 ** _"What are you doing, Summer?" she asked herself, whispering so that her voice wouldn't carry._**

 ** _Through the scope, she saw the members of Team DOPE that were with her followed her friend inside; but they immediately came out not even a minute later._**

Eyes widening, Ruby gasped out, "No!"

 ** _The sound of a crow cawing frantically made her eyes widen and she made to kick off of the tree she was in._**

 ** _"SUMMER…!"_**

 ** _Her cry of worry echoed across the moonlit hillside, accompanied by a round from a sniper rifle being fired at the entrance of the mines…_**

"No!" Ruby repeated, her tone desperate as tears formed in her eyes. Yang was also wide-eyed at what was happening, and she prayed to everything that it wouldn't happen.

 ** _…where an explosive had been set to collapse the whole damn thing in on itself._**

"MOM!" cried Ruby, running up to the screen with her palms pressed against it. "NO! MOM!"

The other teens were left speechless at what had just happened; none of them knowing what to say or do about what had just happened. Slowly, Yang stood up from her seat and moved over to Ruby, putting a hand softly on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Please…" sobbed Ruby, falling to her knees as she was pulled into a hug by her elder sister. "It's not fair, Yang…"

"I know," whispered the blonde soothingly. "It's definitely not fair, and I wish we hadn't watched that." She pulled back slightly to wipe away her little sister's tears. "But Rubes…there's nothing we could do to change what happened. Mom was awesome, but she trusted the wrong people… It's not fair, but you know what she'd want us to do about it?"

Sniffling and wiping her own tears, Ruby shook her head and awaited the answer.

With a soft smile, Yang placed her hand on Ruby's cheek and finished, "She would want us to stay strong and stay together as a family. She raised us to be the best we could be, and I'd say that we're doing a damn good job about it. I mean, look at you, sis!" She chuckled proudly. "You're two years younger than we are, and you're the leader of Team RWBY; a team that has you in the title! She'd be so proud of you; just like we all are proud of you."

Slowly, the young Rose looked to her friends and saw them all smiling at her. Her other teammates then moved over to embrace her, making her tear up once more; but this time they were tears of gratitude. Team JNPR soon joined in as well, and Ruby choked out thanks to all of her friends while Yang moved over to stand by Kushina.

"It's not easy, is it?" the Uzumaki asked softly so no one else would hear. "Being the strong one of your family after something awful happens?"

Yang was silent as smiled sadly at her friends supporting her younger sister.

She jumped when she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder, and she turned to see Kushina giving her a warm smile. "Just like Summer would be proud of Ruby, I'm sure she's just as proud, and grateful, of you, Yang."

The blonde woman choked back her own sob and accepted a hug from Kushina, letting out tears she had held back for so long.

* * *

It took some time for everyone to recompose themselves; but once everything had been let out of their systems, Yang had once again taken the book to read.

"Are we ready?" she asked the others, earning nods from them. "Okay, here we go."

* * *

 **"By the kami," muttered Naruto, seeing yet another dark part of Raven's life. He locked eyes with the slits of her mask, showing an understanding of the pain she was holding within herself. "How could you keep going after that; after losing your friend?"**

 **She recoiled at that, shock filling her to the core. _'He didn't… Not THAT!'_ Rage replaced the shock in her core, and the red that highlighted her hair began to bleed into the black, changing it from an ebon black to a bloody red.**

"Huh… So that's where my Semblance comes from," Yang mused before resuming.

 **"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU BASTARD!" she roared, ignoring all of her disciplines and attacking on sheer instinct.**

 **Naruto kept looking at her with sympathy as he refused to retaliate and chose to only dodge or block; most of the choices being the former option. With every clash, he knew she was seeing more and more of his life; just as he was seeing more and more of hers.**

"That's gotta be hard for him to go through," Jaune noted. "He's basically seeing her life without her permission; but he can't control it happening."

 **He saw the birth of her daughter, Yang…**

 **Her reluctance to leave Yang with a man she felt was "naïve" to the true nature of the world…**

Yang blinked at that, not knowing that Raven was actually reluctant to leave.

 **Her psychological state becoming more and more jaded as time passed…**

 **Her guilt at not being able to save her best friend…**

Ruby took a breath to keep her emotions in check, but was still grateful for Raven trying to save her mother.

 **Her vow to her dead friend to keep both of their daughters safe…**

That last one surprised both daughters of Taiyang, and they wondered how Raven was keeping that promise to Summer.

 **He didn't know what she had seen from his life, but he was easily able to tell that she was becoming greatly affected by it. Her mind was warring with itself at the glimpses she was seeing, and he knew he had to put an end to this before it got to the point beyond fixing.**

 **So, when she went for another killing blow, he tossed his knife and had it stab into a nearby building wall while his now free hand reached out. With barely a grunt at the blade cutting into his skin, he caught the red sword and held it tightly while his blue eyes locked with the red orbs he saw through the slits of her mask.**

 **"Enough," he declared sternly, actively creating a link with her as both of their visions went blank for a moment.**

"Since he's intentionally making the link," Weiss began, "does that mean it will be stronger?"

"I'd say so," Kushina agreed, showing she wasn't fully sure about her own response.

 **When her eyes adjusted to the strange sensation she was forced to endure, they widened when they saw that she was no longer in the underground city beneath Mountain Glenn. Instead, she found herself standing in knee-deep water that made up a river that flowed from a raging waterfall. On either side of the waterfall was a statue of a different person facing the other; but the statues themselves were ruined from the knees down, showing different legs and similarly sandaled feet.**

"The Valley of the End," Kushina noted, "with the statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, founders of the Hidden Leaf Village."

 **At the base of the waterfall were different chunks of rubble from the mountainside and the statues themselves. She turned behind her when she heard deep, heavy breaths, seeing the same blonde man from earlier; but he was heavily damaged and seemed…different from the one she was just fighting a moment ago.**

"What's this memory of?" Ren asked curiously.

"Probably the last one he had of his own home," Pyrrha guessed sadly.

 **She narrowed her eyes at the fully formed right arm that the one she faced _definitely_ didn't have. His blue eyes – one of them heavily swollen from a previous injury – were glaring at something on the waterfall, so she turned back and looked upwards. As she did, she saw the person the blonde was glaring at and saw that his left hand was sparking with dark lightning.**

"Sasuke," growled out Blake.

 ** _"It's time, Naruto,"_ the black-haired young man declared in a tired voice. _"I won't have my revolution be stopped here; not by you."_ His strangely designed eyes glared hatefully at the whiskered blonde as he roared, _"Just let me cut you down!"_ before leaping off of the waterfall, diving at his foe with his lightning encased hand spearheading his descent.**

 **She looked back to the damaged Naruto, seeing golden energy begin swirling in his right hand slowly before furiously picking up speed and growing in both size and power. _"You can't cut your bond with me, Sasuke…"_ she heard him say softly, more to himself than to that Sasuke kid.**

"Odd that she refers to Sasuke as a child when he looks the same age as Naruto," Weiss commented.

"With everything she's seen of Whisker's life?" Yang fired back. "I doubt she'll be seeing him as a _kid_ anytime soon."

 **The force of his technique picked up the wind and water around him as he gave a powerful leap, meeting his opponent's charge with his own.**

 **As they got closer and closer, she saw the clashing energy wisps lash out at one another before the two combatants even reached each other. Her red orbs narrowed when the space around each impact seemed to distort and rip away at… _something_. These rips surrounded both men, and their inevitable impact only linked them together into a more jagged rip in what she could only describe as space-time.**

Eyes widened throughout the room.

 **Looking to them both with narrowed eyes, she saw that Naruto was the first to notice the rip. With a determination in his eyes that she had only ever seen in her brother Qrow, Raven watched as the blonde forced more power into his technique so that he could direct Sasuke away from the rip.**

Kushina looked away at the scene, not wanting to see the consequences of her son's selflessness. She already knew what would happen; she didn't need to see it.

 **When the techniques were forced to end, both of them shot away with a vicious recoil and Naruto wound up flying into the temporal rip; his right arm having been blown apart from the elbow down while Sasuke was in a similar state with his left one.**

 **Just before the rip closed, she saw sadness in the blue orbs of the whiskered young man. A part of her felt respect for him, as well as sympathy for his sacrifice.**

"Damn bastard," Blake ground out, feeling a deep hatred for Sasuke and his hand in ruining the life of a selfless person like Naruto.

Yang saw the look in Blake's eye and found herself genuinely surprised at how emotionally drawn she had become towards Naruto. At first she was happy to tease her about it since she thought it was just a crush on Blake's part. But now…

 **As for Sasuke… Actually, the vision paused at that point and the world around her turned grayscale, losing all color and vibrancy.**

 **"That was the last thing I remember before I woke up in a crater in that ruined city above ground," she heard a familiar voice inform her, and she turned around to see the Naruto she had been fighting before; missing arm and all. "As you can see, I'm not exactly a… _natural-born_ citizen of Remnant. At least, I don't think I am. Space-time theories weren't something I ever touched on in terms of study."**

"I doubt anyone other than the Second Hokage and my husband studied those kinds of practices," Kushina mused, returning her attention to the screen.

 **"Why show me this?" she immediately questioned as her red hair returned to its natural color, hoping to get straight to the point of the matter.**

 **"I wanted you to see that our souls were linking as we fought. You and I were seeing glimpses of the other's life, and I saw how much my life was affecting you during the fight. You were getting more and more aggravated while losing your composure." He looked down in guilt as he added, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry if you felt…invaded with what I saw. And I'm sorry that you had to live through so much pain."**

 **"Save it," she cut off, her tone gaining an edge to it. "I don't need your pity."**

"Lay off him, mom!" Yang exclaimed, stopping her reading to glare at her mother's image. "He didn't mean for it to happen!"

Awkwardly, Weiss reached over and grabbed the book, clearing her throat before picking up where Yang left off.

 **"It's not pity; it's understanding." His only hand rested against his chest as he continued, "I've always noticed that I was able to understand the pain of others; considering how I lived a painful life myself." Lowering his hand and cutting the connection he had made, he kept talking, "I never intended to see parts of your life, Raven… I'm sorry."**

 **She had her arms crossed as she stood across from him, her masked eyes locking with his apologetic ones. After a moment, she sighed and reached a hand up to her mask, grabbing it a certain way so that the back of it folded in on itself enough for her to remove it from her head. Once it was off, Naruto got his first real look at her; and he was amazed at her beauty.**

"Okay, Whiskers," drawled out Yang with a faint brow twitch. "No need to be checking out my mom."

 **Pale complexion that seemed natural on her, red eyes as deep as crimson, and a face that belied her age. In his opinion, she looked like she was just a bit older than his age of seventeen instead of her obviously older age. Her hair framed her face perfectly, and the fringe that fell between her brows was just the cherry on top, in his opinion.**

 **In short, Raven Branwen was a looker.**

The twitching brow increased its intensity while Kushina chuckled to herself. "I never thought my son would be into older women."

 **Leaning on her leg with her hand on her hip, she asked, "What do you want in Mountain Glenn, Uzumaki?"**

 **He gave a small chuckle and asked back, "Finally letting me talk, are you?"**

 **"I could always pick up where we left off?" she suggested as her brows furrowed, making him raise his hand up in surrender while his chuckle became awkward in nature.**

 **"No need for that," he pleaded before turning serious. "To answer your question, I've partnered up with someone and they're interested in this place for some reason. So, they sent me here on my own since the Grimm seem to ignore me."**

 **"Ignore you?" she cut in, eyes narrowed at the unheard of _ability_. "Impossible.**

"That's what we thought too; but it's true," Ren noted.

 **Grimm are attracted to negativity, and you have that in spades with the life you've led."**

"She's right about that, but he doesn't seem to be holding onto his negative side; save for his grief," Pyrrha mused.

 **"I'm surprised by it too," he admitted. "My only guess is that they don't understand what I am, seeing as I'm not from Remnant. Since I haven't done anything to provoke them, they're giving me a _benefit of the doubt_ kind of space, I guess."**

 **Her expression became deadpan as she commented, "That sounds completely ridiculous…"**

"I agree," Weiss stated with just as much deadpan.

 **She then sighed and crossed her arms beneath her generous bust.**

Another twitch of Yang's brow.

 **"But…I can't think of anything better than that. At least you're not causing any unnecessary problems by attacking them for no reason. There's a _reason_ why the Grimm are so hostile and numerous, after all."**

 **"How do you figure?" he asked in intrigue.**

 **"Think about it," she began, a frown marring her beautiful face. "Why do you think the Grimm exist?"**

 **"It feels like it's nature retaliating against mankind," he answered, giving his personal opinion.**

"Spoken like a real Sage," Nora noted with a small laugh. She had heard of Sages growing up and was told that they lived in nature and supported it above all else.

 **"More or less," she agreed. "Grimm are made up of darkness, and they're attracted to more darkness such as the hatred of mankind. They're relentless in their pursuit of it, which is why their number only grow larger as time passes."**

 **"And with how people can be deep down…" began Naruto, sighing in disappointment.**

 **She nodded. "They will never fully rid themselves of the Grimm. There's too much negativity lingering around the Kingdoms; no matter how much they preach about how _peaceful_ they are."**

 **"Dammit…" groaned out the blonde, leaning back against a building wall. "Is there anything we can do to try and stop this?"**

" _We_?" repeated Ruby with a smile. "He's already starting to see himself as part of Remnant."

 **"Not unless you can convince people to stop hating, fearing, or hurting one another. And with groups like this newer White Fang, the countless gangs throughout the Kingdoms, and those that work behind the scenes…" She gave a hollow chuckle, shaking her head and unknowingly drawing Naruto's attention to her hair before he caught himself.**

"Dammit, Uzumaki! Stop checking out my mom!" comically raged Yang, feeling weird about it.

 **"It's impossible; a fool's goal."**

 **Naruto frowned thoughtfully at that. "…I'm a fool," he noted, his tone slightly suggestive.**

Kushina was slowly starting to grin at her son's words.

 **She raised a brow. "What? You think you can change this world? Newsflash, Uzumaki; it's a wasted effort. There's nothing you can do, so just give up any ideas of trying."**

 **To her surprise, he started to chuckle softly before it erupted into laughter. It was such a shocking thing that she actually took a step back on instinct. "I can't believe how similar this whole clusterfuck is compared to the Elemental Nations! A cycle of unending hatred, people constantly at war with one another, even if they don't show it, and all of it seemingly pointless to try and fix!" He gave another bout of laughter, holding his side and sliding down onto his backside as some tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "It's almost like I never left home!"**

The others cringed while Kushina was awaiting what her son would decide.

 **Raven found herself slightly concerned about the mental state of the man literally laughing himself to tears on the ground. A part of her wanted to just walk away and never look back, but the larger part rooted her feet in place; forcing her to stay until he was done. Rationality took over, and she began to realize that his tears were a sign that he was truly starting to come to grips with his situation.**

 **He had been forced away from the life he knew, and the place he found himself in was starting to show itself as a near copy of what he had fought through; of what he had endured his entire life. It was understandable, in her eyes, for him to be a bit off kilter.**

"Thank you for not judging him, Raven," Kushina thanked.

 **Based on what she had seen, Raven was impressed with how much Naruto had accomplished. He had fought against hatred itself in his world, proving himself to be stronger than it on multiple occasions and opening his heart to those who had suffered. Friends, strangers, and even enemies found themselves rallying to him, standing at his side and looking to a brighter future; a radiant dawn.**

"I like the sound of that," Ruby commented, earning the attention of the others. "Naruto Uzumaki, the Radiant Dawn of Remnant."

Kushina couldn't help her laughter at that, flashing Ruby a bright smile at her title for him. "That sounds perfect!"

 **A faint smirk made its way to her face as she watched him finally start to calm down. _'You're an interesting one, Naruto Uzumaki…'_**

 **From his seated position, the blonde looked up to the sky through the hole he had made, watching the colors change from late afternoon to early evening; the orange and reds giving way to violets and blues. "…I'm not going to find a way back home, am I?" he asked aloud, almost rhetorically as his face set into a bitter smile.**

"So that's where his _Unexpected Closure_ comes from," Blake noted, referencing the chapter's title.

 **Moving over to him, Raven lowered herself down so that she was seated next to him. Her mask was rested beside her as she too looked up to the sky. "Sorry, Uzumaki. I don't think it's in the cards for you; even if you have the Devil's Luck."**

 **"Damn," he said simply in response, though his tone held no malice in it whatsoever. Instead, it held reluctant acceptance. "I had so much that I still wanted to do back home… I wanted to become Hokage… I wanted to talk with Hinata about her confession to me..." That got an interested look from the woman beside him.**

The others looked interested as well. "A girl confessed to Whiskers?" Yang asked.

"Who was Hinata?" Blake asked Kushina, fighting the frown that wanted to form.

"A woman in his graduating year who saw him as an inspiration and apparently loved him," answered the woman.

"What'd she look like?" Ruby added.

"She was a Hyuuga, and they were known for their pale eyes."

Recognition dawned on the teens, remembering the image of the girl with pale lavender eyes Naruto saw in the fire in Chapter One.

 **"I wanted to try and have a family to pass on what I've learned…"**

 **Raven moved her head in a so-so manner as she cut in, "That last one is still available to you. The way I see it, you have an opportunity that few people ever have presented to them."**

 **"Oh yeah?" he asked with a raised brow. "And that is…?"**

 **"A second chance; a new start," she answered, turning so that she looked him in the eye. "I'm honestly envious of you, Uzumaki. I would do almost anything to have another chance; but I've been tainted too much in my life."**

Yang idly wondered what would've happened if Raven DID have a second chance.

 **He frowned at her, surprising the woman as he did so. "You're not tainted, Raven. You've just experienced too much pain to see the good in others."**

 **"Whatever _goodness_ that's in people usually comes with some ulterior motive," she fired back, frowning back at him. "The only reason you're different is because you're not from here."**

 **"That's not true. What about Summer?"**

"He has a point," Pyrrha agreed with a smile aimed at Ruby.

 **"You would use her against me?" Her hair flickered red for a moment.**

 **"If it helps you see how much pain has blinded you, then yes," he answered firmly. "Summer reminds me of myself; wanting to do everything we can to help others. We don't do it for ourselves or for any kind of fame. We do it because we know it's the right thing to do; because it's what our hearts tell us is right."**

"Sounds like someone else I know," Blake mused with a smile, gently nudging Ruby who looked bashful.

 **To his surprise, Raven gave a melancholy smile as she shook her head. "You sound just like her… She always talked about doing what _felt right_ ; especially when it came to helping others." A soft chuckle escaped her lips, along with a tear that rolled down her cheek. "She would've loved to meet you…and so would her kid. That girl is as reckless as her mother; but is also just as morally influenced."**

Ruby was red-faced in embarrassment while the others had a small laugh.

 **Naruto chuckled as well, giving a small smile. "Sounds like my kind of person."**

 **"She's naïve though; and I'm worried for her, if I was honest with myself. One of these days, she's going to see firsthand just how cruel the world can be. When that comes, she'll either break or she'll be like you; strive to get stronger to fix it."**

Ruby gulped at that, hoping that she would stay strong if that ever happened.

 **He nodded in understanding. "Maybe I'll see her for myself one of these days. I'd like to see what makes her so special."**

 **"I'm sure you will," Raven commented with certainty. "Keep a lookout for anything concerning a girl in a red hood and a big scythe. That's Summer's kid."**

 **"Will do,"**

"Whiskers wants to meet you, Rubes~!" teased Yang.

"Yang!" whined Ruby in embarrassment.

 **assured the Uzumaki as he stood up, offering his arm to help Raven do the same. She gave him a nod in thanks for the gesture as he took a step back from her. "Don't give up on Remnant, Raven. There are people out there who are trying to help it heal."**

 **"Like you?" she asked with a teasing smirk, which earned her an unsure shrug from the one-armed blonde.**

 **"Maybe. But I'm definitely going to do things differently this time. I took on too much alone, and I paid for it when I depended on Sasuke.**

"That you did," Blake agreed. "But he was worse than scum to begin with," she added, using the ideal that he lived by to describe the Uchiha.

 **If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need to make sure that plenty of people are prepared."**

 **"And what about those who try to stop you?" she asked, knowing the question needed to be brought up. "Will you try to talk them over like in your world?"**

 **"At first, yes. But, if they refuse to see the pain they're causing, then I'll make them see it; even if I have to use a firm hand when doing so."**

"Good answer," agreed Kushina. "Love was the answer that Naruto chose to find peace; but Love can be _tough_ sometimes."

The others nodded in agreement to her words.

 **She smirked and nodded in acceptance. "Good to hear. I'll keep in touch with you, Naruto," she said, surprising him with the use of his first name before she swung her sword, creating a strange red and black wormhole beside her. "See ya."**

 **With that, she stepped into her personal wormhole and disappeared, leaving Naruto alone in the underground ruined city. Smirking in response, he muttered, "See ya around, Raven," before he made way back to the surface.**

"Holy hell," gasped out Yang. "They're gonna work together!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jaune asked hesitantly, knowing that he was broaching a sensitive topic. "Maybe he can help her reconnect with you in this story?"

Yang was silent at that, her expression one of deep thought.

* * *

 **"So, there was _nothing_ worth mentioning there?" questioned Cinder as she sat across from Naruto on the bullhead. She and the others had just picked him up not too long ago and were on their way back to Vale.**

 **"Other than the underground extension of the city that looked to have, at one time, a working rail line? Not really," he answered with a shrug. "Just a bunch of Grimm; though there was a Goliath class Grimm moving away from the city. Probably went off to find others."**

 **"I see…" she said thoughtfully. "I'm curious about something though."**

 **"What's on your mind?"**

 **"You seem a bit less…burdened after this venture; like a weight has been lifted. I'm wondering what might've caused your positive change."**

"Uh-oh," Ruby commented. "She's onto him!"

"Calm down, Ruby!" Weiss admonished. "Anyone would notice him being like that after seeing him so depressed before!"

 **Internally, he frowned at what he should say. He wanted to respect Raven's privacy and keep her whereabouts, even if she wasn't staying in the ruins anymore, anonymous. It was the least he could do for helping him find some closure.**

"Good man," Ren praised. "Support those who support you in turn."

 **So, he answered, "I took some time to vent. Some of the more ruined buildings were brought down in the process, but I think I'm finally coming to grips with my situation. I doubt there's going to be any working method for me to get back home; so, I'm choosing to make the most of my situation. This could be a second chance for me, and I want to make the most of it."**

"Let's hope he succeeds this time," Blake commented, frowning at the image of Cinder.

 **"Is that right?" she asked, giving a pleased smirk. "Well, I must say that I'm glad you've found some sort of closure. I hope this will make things easier for you in the future. And I _do_ hope that we'll continue this little partnership of ours? I'd hate to watch you leave after becoming so curious about you." Her smirk grew as she added, "Not to mention that you've left a lasting impression on Neo. It'd be disheartening to see her lose such a connection to someone."**

"Oh, that manipulative little-!"

"Yang!" admonished Ruby before Yang could finish that insult.

 **He saw what she was doing, and it made him chuckle. "No need to guilt me, Cinder. I'm not going to just walk away from you guys after you've been so helpful and supportive." Leaning back and grinning, he asked, "So, what's the next step?"**

 **"I'm glad to hear that, Naruto; and the next step is actually rather simple," she began, her smirk still in place. "While I leave Roman and Mercury in charge of things for the time being,**

"That won't end well," Nora noted, sounding totally serious for once.

 **you, myself, Emerald, and Neo will be attending the school here. Beacon is famous for producing able-bodied Huntsmen and Huntresses, and we need to find some people who can rally to our cause."**

"She's recruiting," noted Pyrrha with a rare glare on her face that was aimed at Cinder.

 **"And that cause is…?" he pressed, pushing down a groan at the idea of school. He wasn't a fan during his years at the Academy; something _many_ people back home could attest to.**

 **Her eyes glowed for a moment as she gave a single-worded answer.**

 **"Change."**

"That could mean anything," Blake stated, not liking the vague response Cinder gave Naruto.

"Well," Weiss said as she bookmarked the page, "that's the end of this chapter. I think we should take some time to think things over; especially with the emotional weight this chapter had."

"Good idea," Jaune agreed, sending the heiress a smile that she ignored. "We'll meet here again tomorrow, everyone."

"Sounds like a plan," Ruby agreed as the group all left the room and returned the book to the librarian.

Once they all reached their rooms, Kushina didn't even twitch when she heard someone nervously clear their throat. "Um, Miss Kushina?"

"Yes, Blake?" replied the woman, turning to face the Faunus with a kind smile.

Blushing in both nervousness and shyness, she hesitantly requested, "I-If it's not too much trouble…could you tell me more about your son?"

"Oh? And why ask me on your own and not with your team?" pressed the Uzumaki, her smile turning into a grin that made Blake's blush deepen.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I-I didn't want them to…make fun of me."

Kushina's grin softened at that and she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Once her amber eyes met Kushina's violet, the redhead offered, "Would you like some tea while we talk?"

Perking up, Blake answered, "Green tea, please," as she followed Kushina into her room.

* * *

 **That took a LOT longer than I thought... Sorry for the wait, everyone.**

 **Question: What do you guys think of a Naruto/Salem idea? I won't throw out any details, but I just wanna know what you all think.**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


	4. Reading Chapter 4

**Chapter Four Reading coming at y'all!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **pain17ification**_ **owns nothing**

* * *

"Seriously?" Blake asked Kushina, fighting a laugh at another of Naruto's childhood shenanigans. "He painted the Hokage Monument in broad daylight with an orange jumpsuit?"

Kushina didn't bother fighting her laughter as she nodded. "Yes, he did. The best part was how he didn't caught by anyone but his Academy Teacher. He led a group of seasoned ninja a wild chase throughout the village and outsmarted them all."

Shaking her head in amusement, Blake couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her lips. "They must've been so ashamed that a kid outran and outsmarted them."

"I'd like to think so," the Uzumaki woman agreed before she looked at the clock. "Geez, is that the time?" she asked rhetorically, prompting Blake to see that it was almost one in the morning. "I think that's enough stories for tonight, Blake. You need your rest."

"Yeah, I'm starting to doze off," the Faunus admitted. Setting the empty cup of tea down on the table, Blake stood up from her seat and gave Kushina a small smile; one of her real ones that she rarely gave these days. "Thank you for the stories and refreshments, Ms. Uzumaki."

"Hey, what'd I say about calling me that, ttebane?" admonished the woman, exasperation in her tone.

Blake's smile grew faintly and she bid the older woman a good night before she returned to her team's room. She made sure to open the door quietly, seeing as they would no doubt be asleep at this time of night.

She didn't expect to see Yang seated on her bed wide awake, a smirk on her face. "Finding out more things about your future man, are we?"

Blake fought a blush and didn't respond, silently moving to her bed to lie down.

"All joking aside," she heard Yang continue, making her turn back to the busty blonde, "I'm glad we're reading this story."

"You are?"

Nodding, Yang elaborated, "There are some things that we all need to get off our chests, and this book seems to be making that happen. It's helping me come to terms with my mother, and it's also helped Ruby stop bottling up her pain." She hugged her legs, her lilac eyes focused on the floor while Blake listened patiently. "I've noticed that it's also made you open up more. You're usually so quiet and to yourself; but it's nice to see how this book can make you react and express your real feelings on things."

The feline beauty of RWBY cringed at that, feeling a bit guilty for not letting her friends in and constantly pushing them away; even if it was subconsciously. "I'm sorry…"

"None of that," cut off the blonde. "There are things you aren't ready to share, and I respect that. I was going to keep my issues with my mother to myself for a long time; but this book made me bring them out. I'm a bit miffed about it, but I feel…relieved, I guess. It's like a weight has been removed from my shoulders, you know?"

Blake nodded with a smile. "I understand what you mean. For what it's worth, I really do want to open up to you all; but my past is…"

"Rough?" Yang supplied.

"That's a good word for it," Blake agreed. "Maybe this book will help me stop hiding who I am…"

"Well, whenever you're ready, just know that you'll still be my friend and my partner."

The two teammates shared a smile before they turned in for the night.

* * *

The next day, the two teams decided to get an early start on their reading. The reason for this was because they wanted to have the rest of the day to train and plan for the upcoming festival and it's famous tournament. It was a few weeks away, and they needed all the time they could spare to prepare.

Kushina found herself reminded of her younger days as a kunoichi, spending hours of every day training herself for missions and exams to improve her ninja rank. She found the bond between the teams to be a wonderful thing; something she told them to hold onto and cherish for as long as they could. Life never gave warnings for when it would throw a surprise at you, after all.

"I'll read this time," Pyrrha offered, opening the book to where they had left off.

 ** _Sackcloth and Ashes_**

 ** _Chapter Four: First Impressions; Uzumaki Style_**

"Hmm," Jaune hummed in thought. "I'm willing to bet that he meets some of us this chapter."

"Wonder who he'll meet first," Nora mused aloud.

 **"That was uncomfortable," groused Naruto as he felt his damaged nerves being connected to his new arm; one that was offered to him by Cinder.**

"Nice arm!" Ruby exclaimed, her weapon-happy mindset already coming up with possible modifications (some of them _possibly_ illegal) she could add to it.

 **The arm went through an automated series of tests, starting with flexing the fingers, rotating the wrist (complete with doing full spins both clockwise and counterclockwise), and checking to see if Aura was flowing through some of the wiring.**

 **Naturally, instead of Aura, Naruto felt his chakra moving just fine through the mechanical arm.**

"Of course," Kushina agreed with the book, looking amused.

 **"I'm not surprised. Nerves are fickle things after all," the doctor that had been paid to attach the arm noted.**

"Crap," cursed Yang. "He was probably paid to keep his mouth shut about it too."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Weiss agreed. "Especially with how Cinder seems so manipulative. She probably has backup plans for her backups."

The other teens looked concerned at that possibility.

 **"Everything seems to be fine so far. However, if anything comes up that concerns you about the arm," he handed Naruto a card with a series of numbers on it, "give me a call so we can schedule an appointment."**

 **"Anything special about this arm, besides it being the latest model?" Emerald asked. She had been tasked by Cinder to accompany Naruto for this, and she wanted to be sure that her Mistress's money wasn't going to waste.**

"As much as I appreciate my son getting a replacement, I'm not a fan of it's worth being measured by someone out to use him," Kushina stated with a frown.

 **"Well, inside of the arm chamber, there's some cable wires that have been retrofitted to act as a grapple line. It attaches to the wrist of the hand, which would act as the grapple itself. The fingers can have hooked _claws_ come out to anchor the grapple hand, or to act as a close quarters weapon if you prefer."**

"Awesome…" Ruby whispered with starry eyes, making her team roll their eyes in amusement.

 **"How do I fire my hand?" Naruto asked, honestly a bit excited about the added feature of his new limb.**

 **"It's activated by projecting your Aura through the cable and into your wrist. The wrist will detach and, if enough Aura is used, fire outward. If minimal Aura is used, it will only detach the wrist and you can maneuver it however you please," explained the doctor.**

Ruby fought down a squeal of delight at the arm's functions.

 **He then handed the Uzumaki a small manual that gave better details about his arm. "Inside will explain everything, as well as inform you of the maintenance you will need to continuously perform on your arm so that it stays in working order."**

 **"Thanks," replied the blonde before he was discharged from the hospital and led by Emerald through the streets of Vale City. As they walked, he moved around his arm to get a better feel for it and even practiced detaching the hand and activating his claws. "Man… If we had this kinda technology back home, so many lives could've been fixed…"**

The Remnant-born Readers turned to Kushina and saw her nod grimly. "He's right. The Hidden Sand was the closest to having functional limb replacements; but they were made of wood, similar to their puppets. Not exactly a long-lasting replacement with our kind of profession."

Many of the teens cringed at that.

 **"What a shame," Emerald noted, not really caring for the conversation. "At least I don't have to see you moping around all the time now."**

 **"Excuse me for battling my biggest rival and losing an arm for it!" fired back the Uzumaki with a growl. "Not to mention being sent away from my home for all my efforts!"**

 **"You gonna go cry in the corner again, Whiskers?" taunted the red-eyed girl.**

"She's asking for it," Blake growled, earning a snicker from Yang.

 **"Don't push me, Emerald," he warned, releasing a minuscule amount of chakra; just enough to make her feel some pressure around her form.**

"That right there is known as _Killing Intent_ ," Kushina explained. "You project your intentions to beat, or obviously kill, your target. The reaction to it depends on the level they've already experienced, or their natural willpower."

"And since Emerald hasn't faced something like that before…" Ren continued.

"It means she won't have any way of preparing herself against it," Jaune finished, repressing a shiver. "None of us do, actually…"

"Maybe I can help you all form some kind of defense for it later," Kushina offered. "It's not just with chakra that Killing Intent can be projected, after all."

The others nodded, and Pyrrha continued to read.

 **"Or did you forget just what I could do to you?" he finished, taking the lead and walking off down the road while Emerald struggled not to let the show of power – however small it was – bother her.**

 **Once the pressure lifted, she followed the blonde and kept glaring at him from behind. He made her feel so powerless, and she _loathed_ that feeling. Mentally, she made a promise to return the favor one day; just so she could relish in having _some_ kind of power over him.**

"Yeah, good luck with that," Yang snorted. "She's preparing to fight a losing battle."

"Anger and jealousy will do that to some people," Blake noted.

 **"I'm gonna explore the city," informed Naruto before taking a sudden right turn down another road. "I'll see you back at the hotel."**

 **She watched as he waved back at her with his new arm, not even looking over his shoulder as he walked off. Scoffing, she continued walking towards the hotel she and her associates were staying in. _'Cinder is currently getting us into Beacon, so she won't be back for some time. Roman is getting in touch with Junior to pull off another heist._**

"So it was Roman that was leaving that night!" Yang exclaimed, slamming a fist onto the table.

"Remember your blood pressure, sis," Ruby teased, surprising the blonde with the sudden quip.

The surprise quickly turned into a snort of laughter, appreciating the joke. "Good one, Rubes."

 ** _Neo and Merc are at the base waiting for us to get back. The asshole could easily find his way back to us,'_ she mused, glad to have some time away from the Uzumaki.**

 **He got under her skin so easily, and she needed a break.**

"My son's a natural at that," Kushina awkwardly praised. It was both a good and bad thing, after all.

* * *

 **"The money this place has is so weird," commented Naruto with a sour look, eyeing the card-like currency that Cinder gave him.**

"What kind of money did the ninja world have?" Nora asked curiously.

"We had ryo. It came in both coin and paper forms," Kushina answered.

 **Based on what she informed him of about the currency, he had about one-hundred lien (100Ⱡ). "Alright, let's see if I can't find something good to eat in this city."**

 **Walking around, he took note of how very little Faunus were walking around in the city. He had been told about them by Neo when he asked her in private; knowing how she didn't really like talking.**

"How considerate," Weiss noted.

 **From what she had told him, Faunus were treated like second class citizens; similar to how poorly Jinchūriki like him were treated.**

Blake clenched her fists at this, prompting Yang to reach over and pat her arm in support.

 **It bothered him at how eerily similar circumstances were between the Elemental Nations and Remnant. Not only was there a hopeless situation in this place, there was also cruel prejudice against people not in control of how they were born or raised. _Very_ few people wanted to be Jinchūriki; most not having a choice in the matter. And yet, they were hated for that lack of choice.**

"It's true," the Uzumaki woman sighed out. "Most are made without any form of consent, and the Jinchūriki are blamed for holding the Bijuu within them."

"That's not right," Ruby declared with a frown, earning a small smile from Blake.

"You're right; it isn't. But, few people ever make attempts to change the status quo."

 **Faunus were despised and feared for having animal characteristics. Thinking about it, Naruto made the decision to introduce himself as a Faunus.**

"Say what?" most of the teens (sans Pyrrha) asked aloud.

 **After all, he had two sets of animal affinities; both from his parents. From Minato, he got his affinity for Toads (one that was "awakened" by Jiraiya).**

"Makes sense," Kushina agreed.

 **From Kushina, he got his Fox affinity (since she held Kurama when he was born).**

"That makes more sense," the woman continued, smirking at the facts.

 **So, it wouldn't be much of a lie to say that he was a Faunus hybrid with Toad and Fox features (Toad only being visible during certain moments). It made sense to him, at any rate.**

The others took a moment to think it over, and it was no surprise when Blake nodded first. "I can support that line of thinking. I'm still confused as to where the Toad part came from, though."

"Minato-kun was a Toad Summoner, taught by the Perverted Toad Sage, Jiraiya," explained Kushina. "He allowed Naruto to sign the contract to summon toads when he was around fourteen."

Weiss perked up at that. "Then, when his eyes changed last chapter, that was the toad features presenting themselves."

"Oh yeah!" Ruby exclaimed. "That was his Sage Mode thingy!"

Yang snorted at the word _thingy_ , but she saw what Ice Flower was talking about. "So, his toad side comes out during Sage Mode, but his foxy side is always present."

"Correct," Kushina stated.

 **"Psst…" a whisper sounded, breaking him his thoughts just in time for someone to grab him by the sleeve of his shirt and tug him into an alleyway.**

"Who the…?" Jaune started to ask, but Nora shushed him so Pyrrha could continue.

 **With a surprised grunt, he was about to give the person a piece of his mind, but familiar red eyes stopped that train in its tracks. "Raven…?"**

"Mom?!" Yang called out in surprise.

 **"Who else?" she asked back in jest, her eyes showing amusement. It was all that was visible since she was wearing a full-body black cloak and a facemask similar to the one Kakashi always wore. "Sightseeing, are you?"**

 **"Well, I need to familiarize myself with this place, don't I?" he defended with a grin.**

"…Not sure I like how chummy they seem to be already," Yang noted, her eyes slowly bleeding red. She was still annoyed with how Whiskers was checking out her mom last chapter.

 **The grin fell as he continued, "So, what's with the pull-away? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon; especially not within a week of our first meeting."**

 **"I had a free moment, and I wanted to see how a certain fool I met was doing." Her eyes flicked to his visible prosthetic. "Got your arm fixed, I see."**

 **He raised it up so he could see it eye level. "It was weird not having both arms. I'm not exactly used to seeing my arm like _this_ , but I'll take what I can get." He clenched his metallic hand, golden chakra shrouding it for a brief moment before fading out.**

"Huh… I suppose his chakra color is now naturally the same shade as when he faced Kaguya," mused the mother of Naruto.

 **"At least my chakra flow isn't too hindered."**

 **"I can see that. Well, at least now you won't be so handicapped when the time comes; not that it would matter with your level of power."**

 **"Don't give me a swelled head, Raven," he replied, his tone showing he was completely serious. "Many people have failed because they were overconfident; myself included. I don't need another failure on my conscience."**

Everyone flinched at that statement.

 **"Fair enough," she agreed before reaching into her cloak and handing him a small parcel. "Here, I figured you might need this."**

 **Taking it with his new arm, he turned the wrapped box over and asked, "What is it?"**

 **"In Remnant, Huntsmen and Huntresses use weapons known as firearms; and most are built into their melee weapons. Some people, however, keep those kinds of weapons separated. I myself use my sword mainly; but I keep a sidearm on my person just in case." She nodded her head to the parcel and continued, "That firearm should suit you. I made sure to have some ammunition packed with it as well. Get someone to teach how to better use it when you get the chance."**

"What kind of gun?!" Ruby asked excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

Her teammates all sighed in exasperation while the others sweatdropped.

 **He nodded slowly. "Thanks. But why give me this?"**

 **"To help you fit in. With your abilities, you're going to stand out. In fact, I suggest you keep a _very_ low profile for the time being, Uzumaki. If anything, just say that your _chakra_ is your Semblance. Semblances are unique to the individual, so it won't be too strange to say that yours is Pure Energy Manipulation."**

"That should work," Weiss agreed.

 **"I got it. Not a big fan of hiding, but I know when it's needed. Anything else I should know about?"**

 **She nodded. "I've seen this partner of yours. Be careful around her. She serves someone else; someone rather dark."**

"But who?" Blake asked, growing concerned.

 **"I'm aware of the need for caution around her. She's trying to probe me for more information and make me see things her way. I don't know what her endgame is yet, but I'll be careful."**

 **"Right… And keep your guard up around Ozpin.**

"Huh?!" the teens exclaimed while Kushina frowned. She could see where Raven was coming from right away.

 **The man's more cunning than that woman is, and he probably already knows about you," added Raven before she turned to the end of the alley. A portal opened up and she moved over to it, saying one last thing before she entered it. "I'll keep in touch, Naruto."**

 **With that, she was gone and Naruto was left mulling over her warnings. He already had some suspicions about Cinder and her subtle attempts to sway him to her cause. It was a respectable attempt; especially with how his depression lowered his guard. It reminded him of how some kunoichi pulled off some stealth missions.**

"Target the weakness, and they're putty in your hands," Kushina explained.

 **While he didn't particularly like being the target of such acts, he couldn't help but see the nostalgia in them. It was strangely comforting; which unnerved him at the same time.**

"That's disturbing," Blake noted. "She's getting to him by reminding him of his old home; even if she doesn't fully understand how much t affects him."

 **Taking a breath to gather his thoughts, he left the alleyway and resumed his search for something to eat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that a red-eyed crow was just taking flight from its perch; which had a perfect view of the alley Raven pulled him into.**

 ** _'Eye in the sky, indeed,'_ he mused, finding the irony in the saying.**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaune asked.

"No clue," Ren answered. "But it can't be Raven since she was already talking with Naruto."

Ruby and Yang both had their eyes widen slightly, the two siblings unknowingly coming up with the same guess as to who that crow belonged to. _'Uncle Qrow…'_

* * *

 **"This is a Desert Eagle model," Neo explained, sitting on Naruto's bed as she inspected his new firearm. She had just finished showing him how to load it, arm it, and how to turn the safety on and off. Now, she was going into detail about the gun itself. "It's got plenty of firepower in it, so it also has a lot of kickback."**

"SHE GAVE HIM A DESERT EAGLE?!" Ruby cried, her eyes impossibly large and strangely all white with black outlines.

Ignoring her sister's outburst, Yang noted, "It's still odd to hear how her voice sounds…"

"Considering how she handled you without breaking a sweat?" Weiss asked with a joking undertone.

Blonde hair flickered briefly like fire, and that was all the answer Yang needed to give.

 **"I've never used firearms before, so what makes this model so special?"**

 **"Mainly the power behind it. But it's also semi-automatic, which makes it easier to get more rounds off," she answered, putting the gun back in the box it came in.**

 **"So, power and speed," summarized the blonde. "I need to get a better understanding of this if I'm going to use it in the future." He sighed and leaned back in the chair he was seated in. "What do you think about us going to Beacon, Neo?"**

 **She shrugged, showing that she wasn't too concerned about it.**

 **"I figured as much," he commented with a short chuckle. "Nothing really seems to bother you; except for talking."**

The Readers all mentally agreed with that notary.

 **"I just prefer silence," she explained with crossed arms. "I hate how words can be so destructive, so I keep quiet and let my actions speak for me."**

 **"At least you're honest with your actions. A lot of people I faced betrayed their own actions with their words, and the other way around too."**

"The truth can be a dangerous thing," Kushina spoke cryptically. "It can be used as a weapon, be twisted for selfish reasons, or even denied to avoid emotional pain."

The two teams of Beacon shared looks among themselves, finding the woman's statement to be unnerving.

 **He frowned as he recalled his fight with Pein. "One of the few things I hate is when someone lies to themselves to justify their own actions. If you need to lie to yourself, then there's something very wrong in your life."**

 **She frowned as well, taking note of his tone. It sounded like he was speaking to himself at the same time when he said those words.**

Kushina's eyes turned downcast at that, having an idea of what her son lied to himself about.

 **He sighed again, running his metal hand through his hair and slightly shivering at the cool touch it gave his head. "Oh well… No point in wallowing in the past; not anymore.**

"Good for him," Weiss praised, smiling slightly. "It's good to see he's moving past it all."

Blake nodded in agreement, smiling as well.

 **We have a big day tomorrow, so we should probably get some rest."**

 **Neo nodded and got off of his bed before heading for the door. Just before she opened it, she turned back to him and asked, "What do you plan to do now?"**

 **He was silent for a moment, finding the right words to say in response. "…I plan on making an impression," he answered vaguely before giving Neo a small smile.**

Kushina smirked devilishly at that, prompting the others to unconsciously scoot an inch or two away from her.

 **"Goodnight, Neo."**

 **She returned his smile with a faint smirk and nod before leaving his room. While vague, she understood what he meant. Ever since they linked souls, she found a better understanding of the enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki.**

 **And she enjoyed that enigma.**

Yang waggled her eyebrows, aiming the look at Blake. The Faunus girl fought a blush and bared her sharp canines at the blonde, not enjoying the constant teasing.

Unforunately for her, the blush she fought down revealed itself when she heard the amused snicker Kushina let out.

* * *

 **The next morning, with clothes and other necessities packed, Naruto found himself standing in a large airship surrounded by boys and girls in their late teens. He was looking out the window, enjoying the new perspective he had thanks to the ship.**

 **He got a rush out of flying when he first used his Six Paths Sage Mode, but that was joined by the adrenaline of battling in a war. Here on the ship, it was far more relaxing.**

"Lies!" Jaune cried out, remembering his airsickness. "All lies!"

"Oh yeah! You barfed on the way there!" Ruby noted fondly.

"…It was you?" Yang asked softly, her bangs shadowing her eyes. Red orbs glowed from the shadows and blonde hair began to flicker. "You barfed…on my favorite shoes…"

Jaune paled and began to sweat. Gulping in fear, he turned to his team for help, but they were on the other side of the table. "GUYS?!" he cried out.

"Nuh-uh! I'm not becoming a casualty!" Nora yelled, defending her actions.

"You will be missed, my friend," Ren added, placing hand over his heart.

"…I'm sorry," Pyrrha whimpered, feeling bad about her actions. That didn't mean she was going to change them, though. She didn't have a death wish.

Turning back around, Jaune's face turned white as he saw Yang standing over his seated form. "…Mercy?" he squeaked out.

* * *

A few minutes later, and Jaune was being treated by his traitorous friends/teammates with bandages and ice packs. Seeing as Pyrrha wouldn't be reading, Blake picked up the book and continued the story.

 **"Enjoying the view?" Cinder asked as she moved over to his side, her signature smirk in place.**

 **"Yep," he answered without turning to her. "So, what's your plan for getting us all on one team? You told me how the schools of Remnant consistently make teams of four and give them names. How will you guarantee the four of us being on a team?"**

 **"Truthfully? I can't guarantee it.**

"50 Lien says it happens anyway," Yang deadpanned.

"That's a sucker's bet," Weiss deadpanned back.

 **Best I can do is try to improve our chances; but I can't make it set in stone. Besides, teams are chosen at random, making it nearly impossible to get the _perfect_ team you were hoping for."**

 **"Damn," cursed the blonde. "Well, let's hope for the best then." Inwardly, he was curious if his strange luck would work in his favor this time.**

 **Outside of missions, it usually helped (especially with gambling).**

 **During missions?**

 **Yeah, let's just say that Naruto was justifiably cautious whenever he was on a mission.**

Kushina barked out a laugh at that, imagining both scenarios in her head. She imagined Naruto hitting it big at a casino, only to have his money somehow destroyed on a mission he was taking the same day. It was hilarious.

 **A flash of red was caught in his peripheral, and he turned to see a short girl with a red hood and flowing cape. This captured his interest since Raven had told him that Summer's daughter had a red hood and a big scythe. Not to mention, the young teen looked like a mini-me of the white-cloaked woman from Raven's memories.**

Hearing that made Ruby smile softly. Knowing that she looked like her mother made her feel even prouder of being the woman's daughter.

 **She was wearing a black blouse, a black waist cincher with red lacing and a skirt with red trimmings, completed by her hooded cloak. Holding the cloak in place were two pins that were attached to her blouse. Her belt had cartridges for ammo and strapped to her back was a folded hunk of metal, which Naruto guessed was her large scythe that Raven told him about. She had a nervous air about her, which wasn't surprising since the memories he saw from Raven informed him that Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose, was only fifteen.**

 **Standard age entry at Beacon, or any of the more well-known schools, was seventeen.**

 **She was being gushed over by a rather buxom blonde girl; one that Naruto recognized in an instant.**

"So, he meets us first," Yang noted. "Wonder how this will go…"

 ** _'So, that's Yang… She looks like a blonde version of you, Raven; except she's still rather sheltered from the world,'_ he mused.**

"Sheltered?!" Yang cried out, eyes red.

"He has a point," Weiss defended. "Truth be told, we're _all_ rather sheltered of what the world beyond our homes and the Kingdoms is like."

"No; not all of us," Blake argued, frowning at her past with the White Fang.

Ren and Nora said nothing in response to Weiss's comment. Memories of the past were forced back into the forefront of their minds, and they needed a moment to push them back down. Unseen by all, they both held each other's hand other the table.

 **He saw the excitement and pride Yang had on her face for Ruby, no doubt for getting accepted at an early age. _'She seems rather doting of little Ruby… Probably trying to fill that void that Summer's death and Raven's departure left there.'_**

"…He's not completely wrong about that," Yang grudgingly admitted.

Ruby just smiled at her sister. "Thanks, Yang…"

The blonde smiled back. "No problem, sis…"

 **Normally, Naruto would be rather sympathetic for the two sisters. But, his own upbringing and seeing _why_ Raven left dulled that feeling. Besides, the two seemed to be alright for now.**

 **Still, there was no harm in getting to know them. So, he moved away from Cinder, earning a raised brow from her, and walked over to the two sisters.**

"She won't like that," Nora noted, having calmed down enough to comment on the story once more.

 **"I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees!" Ruby exclaimed, feeling _very_ self-conscious about her early acceptance.**

Moaning pitifully, Ruby was mentally crying about Naruto meeting her during _that_ moment.

 **Yang gave her sister a small smile; knowing how socially awkward she could be. However, she was cut off by a male voice. "Y'know, being normal is pretty overrated."**

 **Both sisters turned to see a tall teen with wild blonde hair, stunning blue eyes, and whisker marked cheeks standing in front of them. He was dressed in open-toed black sandals that were made of durable material and also left his heels exposed. Over his legs, he wore black cargo plants with a knife holster wrapped around his right leg. Holding the pants up was an orange belt that had a pouch attached to it and resting behind him on his right side. He also wore a tunic-styled shirt that had two buttons to close it off in the abdomen area. The shirt itself was orange and had a black trim on it while only the left arm was covered by a sleeve; letting his prosthetic arm be seen by any and every one. Finishing off the look was a gun holster that had straps over his shoulders and was held together on his back.**

Blake blushed faintly at his image, and she was beyond thankful that nobody seemed to notice.

Unfortunately for her, a certain mother _did_ ; and she easily hid a smile.

 **He gave them a friendly smile and wave, letting them see a red spiral etched onto the palm of his mechanical hand.**

"I'm glad he's using our clan's symbol," Kushina commented with a proud smile.

 **"Yo," he greeted simply.**

 **Yang gave him a once over and grinned, liking what she saw. "Hello~," she returned.**

Yang gave an awkward chuckle when she saw the look her partner was sending her.

 **"And you are?"**

 **"Name's Naruto Uzumaki. I'm going to be attending Beacon today, just like you two. Couldn't help but notice how nervous you looked over here, Red." Ruby squeaked at being brought to attention. "You feeling unsure about all of this?"**

 **She rubbed her arm awkwardly. "…A bit," she answered truthfully. Her eyes were locked onto his replacement arm, and he saw some sympathy in her silver orbs. "How'd that happen?"**

 **"Rubes!" Yang admonished, knowing that the question was rather tactless.**

"I'm sorry!" Ruby squeaked out, earning amused looks from the others.

 **"Relax, I'm not offended by it," Naruto assured his fellow blonde before looking down at Ruby. "I was in a fight with someone I once considered as a brother to me. We ended up blowing off each other's arms during the last part of our fight. Next thing I know, I'm waking up somewhere I don't know and with no one I knew."**

"…Talk about simplifying things," Weiss noted with a sweatdrop.

 **"Whoa," both sisters responded.**

 **"Harsh, dude," Yang added.**

 **Shrugging Naruto turned his attention back to Ruby. "Nice try in changing the subject though, Red." He grinned at her guilty expression. "Listen, going to new places can be pretty intimidating; but, all you need to get over those nerves of yours is the guts to be yourself. You gotta leave an impression that is _you_ so that no one will forget just how unique you are."**

"Good advice," Pyrrha noted with a smile, having fully finished icing her partner's swelling.

 **"But I…" she tried to say, but was cut off.**

 **"Trust me, being _part of the crowd_ is not something you should aim for. You wanna know why?" When she slowly nodded, he continued, "Because you lose your individuality. You start lying to yourself and become someone else."**

"That phrase again…" Blake whispered, dreading what would happen when Naruto would meet her story counterpart; a counterpart who was hiding behind her own lies.

 **The red themed girl looked down at that, a thoughtful look etched on her face. A large part of her was still afraid of being treated differently for being accepted by Ozpin, but a growing part of her was proud of herself and how she was already so close to achieving her dream; to be a Huntress and help people wherever she went, just like her mother did.**

"And I will be someday!" exclaimed Team RWBY's leader.

 **Seeing her sister out of it, the female blonde offered her hand to Naruto. "I'm Yang Xiao-Long, and my sister's named Ruby. Nice to meet you."**

 **Taking her offered hand with his false hand, he shook it with a small smile. "You too, Yang. So, what's your goal with coming here?"**

 **She shrugged. "Eh, learn how to fight better, go on a couple of missions, make a name for myself… Y'know, typical _big dreamer_ goals.**

Shrugging, Yang nodded in agreement. "It's not a lie. I'm just taking life one day at a time," she admitted.

 **You?"**

 **"Like I said to Ruby, I want to make an impression here," he answered vaguely. "Remnant's due for some big changes soon, and I want to be a part of that change."**

 **She was a bit confused at his answer, but she shrugged it off. It wasn't that odd of a goal; everyone wanted to make changes for the better. The way she saw it, her fellow blonde just wanted to get as early a start as possible in his changes.**

"Close, but no cigar, other me," the blonde bombshell spoke up with a slight cringe.

 **"Naruto," a voice called out, making the three of them turn to see Cinder looking a bit expectant. "You can meet new people later."**

 **He gave her a raised brow in response before shrugging and turning back to the sisters. "See ya later, I guess. Think about what I said, Red." Walking away from them, he gave Cinder a questioning look. "Problem?"**

"Yes," everyone spoke up as one.

 **"I'd rather we stick close to each other, is all. We're not here to make friends or anything silly like that. Don't forget the real reason we're here."**

 **"You said _Change_ was the reason we're here, Cinder. You never specified _how_ that was supposed to happen. Besides, those two reminded me of people I once met. I was curious if they were related to them."**

"Uh-oh, he slipped…" Nora said.

 **This caught her interest. "You've met others from Remnant?"**

 **He mentally cursed at his slip-up. Thinking fast, he answered, "I met a couple of people when I went around town yesterday. One of them helped me pick out the gun I have on me."**

 **She took a quick glance at the Desert Eagle that was held in his gun holster. "I see…**

"She bought it!" Ruby cheered.

"Will you calm down?!" Weiss admonished her partner.

 **Regardless, try not to wander off anymore." His grin in response wasn't something she had hoped to see. "…You're not really here, are you?"**

 **Shaking his head, the now revealed clone of Naruto answered, "Nope. Boss took another way to the school and is already checking out the place." She frowned at him and he waved her off with his left hand. "Relax, Cinder. Boss knows not to cause too much trouble."**

 **"I'm sorry; _too much_?" she repeated, her frown deepening and her arms crossed.**

Kushina, and to the surprise of the others, Blake chuckled at Cinder's expression.

 **The clone just grinned. "Don't be surprised if you see that Boss livened up the place."**

 **She palmed her face at that and sighed. "Wonderful…"**

* * *

 **Naruto hummed to himself as he finished his latest project, which involved marking the face of the school with his clan symbol. He grinned at how it spruced up the place, giving it some more color and life.**

That was the clincher, and it had Kushina and Blake laughing loudly.

"Mind filling us in?" Yang requested with a brow twitch.

Between her laughs (something that Yang had never truly heard from her partner), Blake gave a brief explanation of one of Naruto's more impressive childhood pranks. With the joke explained, the others expressed their own amusement; even though Weiss tried not to and act like a _proper lady of society_.

 **"Perfect!" commented the Uzumaki, unlocking the cable in his mechanical arm so that he could lower himself back down to ground level. With a jerk of the arm, the clawed hand let go of the building and retracted back to him, clicking as it reconnected with the wrist section.**

 **"Well uh…" a voice started, making him turn to see a rather beautiful redhead dressed in bronze armor staring at his artwork.**

Pyrrha blinked in surprise at seeing her counterpart while the other teens took a quick glance to compare how they both looked.

 **"It's certainly…expressive?" she complimented, though her tone sounded unsure.**

 **"Thanks," he replied, getting her attention. "Glad that someone can appreciate real art when they see it." He offered her his right hand to shake. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."**

 **She gave him a kind smile and shook his hand, not bothered at seeing it so open for others to see. "Pyrrha Nikos. It's a pleasure to meet you."**

"It really is," Pyrrha agreed, having an identical smile as her counterpart.

 **"You too. So, you from Vale?"**

 **Shaking her head, she fell in step with him as he began to walk around the school once again. "No, I'm from Mistral. But, I made the decision to come to Beacon since it's the most well-known of the Kingdom Academies."**

 **"I keep hearing that about this place. Personally, I would rather not be in any kind of school, but some friends**

"LIES!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping out of her chair with comical fury, only to be yanked back into her seat by Weiss.

"Calm. Down," she grit out, making the red-dressed girl gulp and nod.

 **of mine decided to come here, and I didn't want to be left alone." He ignored how people were whispering and trying to be discreet as he walked with the tall girl; her heels making her slightly taller than him. "So, anything you hope to gain from coming here?"**

 **She gave a slightly awkward chuckle was her response. "I'd…rather not say. You'd see it as something silly."**

Pyrrha herself looked embarrassed, knowing what her counterpart was bound to say.

 **"Try me," he pressed gently, giving her a smile. "I promise not to laugh."**

 **Turning to him, she saw pure sincerity in his eyes and it made her smile softly. "I was…hoping to make some friends here."**

"Knew it…" the redheaded warrior sighed out, only to be brought out of her miniature funk by her partner.

"I'd say you succeeded at that," he told her, smiling supportively and making the poor girl blush.

 **"People not that friendly in Mistral?" he asked, looking confused.**

 **"No, it's not that. You see, I'm actually pretty well-known around the Kingdoms because of my victories in the annual tournaments." She looked depressed at this, concerning the blonde Uzumaki.**

The J and P of Team JNPR had a feeling what Pyrrha's counterpart was about to say.

 **"I've been…blessed with incredible talents and opportunities, and I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise. But when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them," she gave the other students a glance, "that I'm on a level that they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people."**

The others were surprised at the girl's statement. Jaune grasped his partner's hand to show his support, making her blush return. But, through her slightly reddened cheeks, she smiled gratefully at the blonde boy.

 **"That's terrible," he commented truthfully. "I'm sorry that you have to go through that." She gave him a grateful look for the sympathy. "Y'know…I had a hard time making friends too when I was growing up."**

 **"Really?" she asked, interested.**

 **He nodded and explained, "I was born on a day that was rather infamous in my village. People saw it as a rather bad omen, and they urged their kids to keep their distance from me. It was hard, and I was lonely for so many years before I entered my first school.**

Kushina's eyes grew misty at this, and she took a breath to compose herself.

 **It was there that I finally got to talk to other kids my age, and I found myself making friends with other troublemakers like myself." He chuckled at the memory, making her smile at the warmth she heard in his laugh. "I'll never forget the friends I made."**

 **"Where are they now?"**

 **"Gone," he answered simply, making her cringe slightly.**

 **"I'm sorry…"** /"I'm sorry…"

Pyrrha said this at the same time as her counterpart, feeling just as guilty for making the whiskered blonde think of people he had lost.

 **"Don't be. You didn't know," he assured her. "Besides, I think you and I just made new friends today. Wouldn't you agree, Pyrrha?"**

 **She looked surprised at the question before smiling beautifully.**

Idly, Jaune agreed fully at the description. Pyrrha really did have a beautiful smile.

 **"Yes… Yes, I agree completely, Naruto."**

 **The two of them smiled as they kept walking, enjoying the comfort in the new bond they had formed.**

"Ruby was right," the redhead of JNPR noted with a smile. "Your son is a wonderful person, Miss Kushina."

"I know," agreed the woman. "It makes me proud to have others see that for themselves."

* * *

 **"So, did you enjoy checking out the school grounds on your own?" Cinder asked when the real Naruto regrouped with her and the other girls.**

 **"Yep!" he answered with a grin. "Got to liven up the place a bit," he jabbed a thumb at the red spiral on the building, "met someone pretty cool,"**

Pyrrha looked rather bashful about being called cool, much to the amusement of the others.

 **Cinder raised a brow at that, "and got to see how unprepared all these kids really are."**

The amusement was gone in an instant.

 **His face turned from jovial to serious in an instant. "They're treating this like a game when there's real dangers out there they don't even know about."**

"Why that judgmental…!" Weiss started to rant before a cough stopped her short.

Turning to Kushina, the two teams heard the woman ask, "Be honest; how many of you were honestly really aware of what else could be out there besides the Creatures of Grimm? Who knew about backstabbing Huntsmen?"

Ruby and Yang cringed.

"Who knew about the people of the world doing _anything_ for money?"

Weiss flinched at this, being reminded of her father.

"Who knew about Grimm that were more dangerous than the average cannon fodder you see on a daily basis in your classes?"

Ren and Nora tensed.

"And who knew how serious criminals like Roman Torchwick or the White Fang truly were right away?"

Blake looked down, ashamed of her past life with the terrorist organization.

"It may have been a bit harsh in critique," Kushina continued, "but he's not wrong." She eyed everyone in the room, and they couldn't meet her gaze. "And you all know it, deep down."

An awkward silence filled the room for a few minutes before Blake found the composure to continue reading.

 **"True, which is why we're trying to change that outdated way of thinking," assured Cinder, though Naruto suspected a different reason for her _changes_. "At any rate, we should head inside for the orientation ceremony. I'm curious about the _words of wisdom_ the Headmaster plans to give his newest students."**

 **He shrugged and let her lead on, following after her and Emerald while Neo decided to hitch a ride on his shoulders. He figured she must've really enjoyed her new vantage point because she rested her arms on his head and her head in her arms as he walked toward the auditorium.**

"Short people will rule the world by riding on the shoulders of the big people!" Nora roared, hoping to get her friends out of their funk. To her relief, she succeeded and saw that they had grown amused at her outburst; Ruby even joined along with her.

 **"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his blue eyes looking upward. She leaned forward a bit so that he could see her face. A smirk was her answer, which he gave an amused look in reply. "Try not to fall then, Neo-chan."**

"What does that suffix mean?" Weiss asked.

"It's a term of endearment. It's mostly added for young children, or for females. The opposite of that is _kun_ ," Kushina explained.

"You called some Minato guy _kun_ earlier," Yang noted, remembering a bit ago.

"He was my husband. Of course I'd refer to him that way since I loved him."

 **Her smirk grew and her eyes turned pink in response.**

* * *

 **"Boys and girls all sleeping together in a large building," commented Naruto dryly, leaning against the wall with Neo while Cinder and Emerald left to get dressed in comfortable sleepwear. He himself was wearing an orange wife beater and black sweats.**

Playfully wolf whistling, Yang gave a thumbs up and praised, "Looking good, Foxy!"

Blake gave her partner the "evil eye" (patent pending) for the comment.

 **"This sounds like a great opportunity for _peep shows_ …"**

Most of the teenage women in the room looked affronted at the idea of boys sneaking peeks of them. However, Yang was rather confident with her body and its natural appeal. So, she was just amused at the notion.

 **"Pervert," teased the ice cream themed girl, who had dressed into her own sleepwear under the protection of her illusionary Semblance. She was now dressed in brown sweats with a white shirt that had a pink trim on it.**

"Why does everyone have to follow their color scheme?" Kushina couldn't help bust ask. "You could branch out, y'know."

 **He rolled his eyes at her teasing. "Not perverted to point out what these teenagers will try to do."**

 **She nodded in acceptance at that as she set up her bedroll next to him. "Sleep now."**

 **"I'll be fine," he replied, watching her lay down on her roll after setting up his for him.**

"She's being awfully helpful," Pyrrha noted. "That connection he made with her is growing pretty quickly."

"I'm not surprised," Blake replied, "considering how they both linked hearts back in the second and third chapters."

 **"I just want to stay up a bit longer and get a better read on these kids."**

 **"You do realize that you're their age, right?" Emerald asked as she and Cinder returned. She was dressed like he was, except that her shirt was a green tank top. Cinder was dressed in red silk pajamas that looked to be made from the finest fabric.**

Weiss huffed. "It annoys me to admit that she looks good in those. They compliment her skin and figure well." What the white-themed girl didn't say was that she was annoyed with how every other girl she's met has a better _womanly_ figure than her; even younger girls like Ruby, with her wider hips and attractive backside.

A depressed air formed over the heiress, much to the confusion of the others. She really hated being _petite_.

 **"Age is but a number. Besides, mentally I'm much older than they are. I've been through a war, after all."**

 **"True, and I'm still rather curious about that war," commented Cinder.**

"Pushing the subject is never a good thing," Jaune said with a frown.

 **"It's not something I like to look back on," he shot down, frowning at the memories. "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some air before I hit the sack." He gave them a small wave before walking off, heading for the exit.**

 **Once he was gone, Emerald commented, "He's still an asshole…"**

 **"Calm down," admonished her mistress. "He's simply coming to terms with everything. Whatever he went through during that war is still fresh in his mind."**

 **The red-eyed girl scoffed at that. "He's just being pissy…"**

"Stubborn child," Kushina bit out, annoyed with Emerald and her animosity towards her son.

 **"You too," Neo cut in with a smirk.**

 **"No one asked you, Neo!"**

 **"Enough," Cinder cut off, her eyes glowing briefly. "I won't tolerate fighting amongst ourselves. Am I clear?" Both of them nodded. "Good. Now, get some rest. We'll need it for our little _test_ tomorrow."**

"She knows what to expect," Ren realized with his own frown.

"Aw! No fair!" Nora whined, pouting childishly.

* * *

 **"Nice night, huh?" Naruto asked as he approached a ravenette girl dressed in an evening yukata.**

Blake's eyes widened at her image.

"Hey, you weren't outside on the first night," Ruby pointed out. "I remember trying to talk with you."

"The book's different from our life, sis," Yang reminded her. "Don't forget that."

"Oh yeah…"

 **She turned away from her book to him, letting him see her piercing amber orbs. "Can I help you?"**

 **"Nah, I was just hoping to get some fresh air before going to sleep. Sorry if I disturbed you." He made to turn away, but the faintest of twitches made him pause. "Any reason why you're hiding your ears?"**

 **She tensed.**

And so did the real Blake.

 **"What are you-?"**

 **"Relax. You're among kin," he assured, jabbing a thumb at his whiskers. "But why are you hiding?"**

 **She frowned and subtly sniffed the air around him before relaxing when she smelt a heavy scent of fox – along with toads strangely – coming from him.**

"Enhanced scent," Kushina mused. "That's handy."

 **"I don't want to be judged on appearances. The minute people see that I'm a Faunus, they'll treat me as if I was part of the White Fang."**

 **"Are you?" immediately asked the blonde with crossed arms.**

 **She hesitated for a second. "…No."**

 **He hummed at that.**

"Busted," Yang couldn't help but comment, but all joking was left out of it.

 **"What you're doing is pretty stupid."**

Blake flinched at that, the words feeling like a blow to the gut.

 **"Excuse me?" the girl retorted, glaring at him.**

 **"You're lying; both to everyone here _and_ to yourself.**

Kushina was the only one who heard Blake whisper, "Again with that phrase…"

 **You say you don't want to be judged by appearances. Well bravo, now you're being judged for lying. What happens if you make friends and they found out you were a Faunus from some other method?"**

Team RWBY as a whole all cringed at that. That was exactly what had happened for them, and it was during a rather nasty fight between the Schnee and the Faunus.

 **He didn't let her answer as he finished, "They'd know you were lying to them and that you weren't upfront from the get-go. They'd lose trust in you and wonder what else you kept hidden from them."**

Another cringe.

 **"But I-"**

 **"You're too afraid to face the woman in the mirror," he cut off again with a frown. "A shame too, because the woman I see is quite beautiful."**

Blake gasped quietly at that, her cheeks turning pink at being called _beautiful_.

 **Turning away, he started to head back inside. "Enjoy living a lie, Kitten…"**

 **With that said, he left her alone with her thoughts. And for Blake Belladonna, her thoughts were a jumbled mess.**

"I'll bet they are," Ruby commented softly, sending her teammate a sympathetic look.

 **Looking up to the shattered moon, she wondered if what her fellow Faunus said was from personal experience; if he lived a lie of his own and saw the damage it caused.**

"I don't like to say it," Kushina spoke up, "but I think he did."

"What would he lie to himself about though?" Blake asked almost immediately, and the others couldn't help but feel as if they had been cut off from the conversation.

Not that they were complaining about it. It was obviously rather personal.

"…His hatred of the village and the villagers, would be my guess," Kushina answered, remembering when she saved her son from drowning in his hatred and fear during his fight with Kurama. "He was more than likely denying it, keeping it down with his dream and promise of becoming the Hokage to protect them. But, at his core, he always held _some_ form of hate for the Hidden Leaf and its people."

Blake frowned sadly at that, understanding completely.

 **Frowning to herself, she decided to make a real decision once she got her team.**

 **Although, part of her wished that he would become one of her teammates; if only to help push her forward.**

"As much as I hope he will, I doubt that'll happen," Blake said with a depressed sigh, bookmarking the page. "That was the end of this chapter."

Yang looked to her partner, noting how she was still dwelling on the end of the chapter. "You gonna be okay, Blake?"

"…I'll need a moment to sort things out; but I think so," the black-themed beauty replied.

"Don't forget," Weiss spoke up, earning Blake's attention, "we're here for you. As teammates…and as friends."

Blake's eyes widened slightly, but she slowly smiled at her team and at Team JNPR. "…Thanks."

The others all made comments of her not having to worry about anything while Kushina smiled at the camaraderie between them being present once more. Clapping her hands together and gathering their attention, the Uzumaki woman declared, "Alright then, I think it's time I took a better look at your teams' training. I don't want to just walk around Vale or Beacon waiting for us to read the next chapter, after all."

"You're going to train us?" Ruby asked excitedly.

Grinning, the woman answered, "Damn right I am, ttebane! So, get your gear and meet me outside!"

With determined excitement, Teams RWBY and JNPR all left the library to gather their weapons and change into more practical clothes.

Left alone, Kushina raised her right hand and looked at her palm, smiling softly at the image of her clan symbol. The red coloration of the symbol was nearly finished, with only a small part of it just below the top curve of the swirl's outline being left to fill.

"Nearly there…" she whispered to herself, her eyes growing misty once more as she walked outside. She looked up to the sky, letting a single tear fall while an anxious smile stretched across her lips. "…You're nearly there, Naruto-kun." (1)

* * *

 **1~ I'm sure that you _all_ know what she's talking about _*grinning devilishly*_**

 **And that's the end of Chapter Four's Reading! You guys are seeing how Naruto's story presence is starting to really get to the Remnant-born Readers, as well as their story counterparts. But, Blake is getting the most affected by it.**

 **Will she regress, or will she stay strong and keep pushing forward? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


	5. Reading Chapter 5

**Here comes Chapter Five Reading!**

 **Disclaimer: _pain17ification_ owns nothing**

* * *

"Quick on your feet!" Kushina ordered as she had her Chakra Chains snake around the training zone, aiming for the four Beacon students. "You can't always choose to block, especially when it leaves you open to other areas! Dodging is necessary too!"

Jaune yelped and dive rolled away from two chains that came at him from both sides at waist level. Using the momentum of his roll, he kicked off the ground and used his shield to cover Nora's back while she batted away another chain with her hammer.

"Thanks, Cap!" she said to him before she cartwheeled away from yet another chain. Mid-roll, she called out, "Ren, on your left!"

Her friend didn't say anything in reply as he used his twin weapons to hold back chains coming from the front and his right. Balancing on one leg, he kicked to the left and stopped the chain with his foot before using it as a kickstand to get out of the tight spot.

He landed beside Pyrrha, and bent forward so that she could roll over his back, swinging her sword to bat away another chain before spinning to her left. Mid-spin, she shifted her weapon to its rifle mode and fired off a few shots at two incoming chains before backflipping away. Her bullets did nothing to slow them down, so it wasn't worth it to waste ammo.

When she landed, she was with the rest of her team and they stood in a four-point formation; back-to-back with each other. "Miss Kushina's chains are really tricky," Pyrrha noted. "They're almost alive with how they move."

"We just need to keep our heads," Ren stated.

"Yeah. Keep formation and we'll watch each other's backs," Jaune declared, to which his team nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Team RWBY had split off into two teams; Freezer Burn and Ladybug.

Weiss was using her Semblance to make a glyph that increased Yang's speed, something the busty blonde used to maximum effect as she blocked and attacked many chains. With the increased speed, she was able to jump and roll over some chains that got too close before she punched one and had it strike another that tried to aim for Weiss directly.

Weiss wasn't standing idle, though. Using another glyph, she fired shots of Dust that took on multiple elemental forms to keep more of the chains at bay. One tried to get her from behind, but she caught it out of the corner of her eye and created a wall of ice that deflected it away from her.

The deflected chain kept its momentum as it shifted targets from Weiss to Blake. The Faunus girl was performing beautiful twirls with her sword and sheathe acting as extensions of her arms. The weapons deflected chains that tried to strike her before she twirled once more and blocked the chain Weiss deflected, her weapon in an X-shaped defense.

Leaping over her from behind was Ruby, and she too performed twirling strikes with her scythe. The massive blade and the pommel of the handle batted away more of the chains before she leapt back and fired a round, hitting another chain while the momentum of the shot pushed her back enough so that she landed next to her teammate.

Weiss and Yang moved over to them and they stood side-by-side as more chains coiled like serpents, ready to attack them.

"Alright!" Kushina called, retracting her chains back into her body. She gave the two teams a bright smile and nodded in approval. "Not bad," she praised. "Not bad, at all. You made sure to cover one another and play to your strengths to hold my chains back. Next time, I'll focus on one team at a time so that I can up the speed of my attacks."

"How strong are those things, anyway?" Yang asked, shaking one of her hands that had an ache at the wrist.

"Strong enough to hold down Kurama," Kushina answered proudly, enjoying the looks of shock and awe the teens had on their faces.

"Y-You held him down with those?" Jaune repeated with a slight stutter. "But he was huge!"

Nodding in agreement, Kushina replied, "Yes, but he was attacking my home and I was protecting my newborn child at the time. People can pull put power that they never dreamed of having before, and all for the sake of protecting something you cherish."

"Something you cherish…" Ruby repeated, looking thoughtful.

"How strong was Naruto when he was putting his life on the line?" Blake asked, getting the attention of her classmates as Kushina smiled at the question.

"When he put his life on the line, when he gave his all for everything and everyone he loved," Kushina began, her smile softening as it filled with pride, "my son was almost unstoppable. Naruto-kun gets strength from the bonds he makes, and from knowing that the people he loves have his back. He can stand tall before an enemy, knowing that he's never alone when he fights them."

The answer made the others smile, for it once again showed how much of an inspiration Naruto was. Blake shared a look with Kushina, and the woman gave a discrete nod that made the teen's smile grow a fraction wider.

"Well, I think that should be enough training for now," Ruby declared. "We can pick up again later."

"Yes. I'd like to wash up before we get back to the story," Weiss agreed, smelling the combined funk that her team and Team JNPR had from their workout. It was _not_ a pleasant smell.

"Sounds good to us," Jaune replied, knowing that his friends would like to freshen up before they cooled off in the library. The training took a lot out of him, but he wasn't complaining. It was helping him get stronger for his team, for his friends, and for everyone else.

Kushina clapped her hands together with a grin. "Right! Go ahead and wash up, and I'll meet you all back in the library."

The teens nodded and headed for their dorms while Kushina watched them go with a proud smile.

* * *

"I'd like to read this time," Weiss said as she grabbed the book and opened it where they left off.

"This next chapter should have us in the Emerald Forest," Ren noted. "Last chapter had the night before, so it only makes sense."

The others nodded while Kushina secretly looked at the Uzumaki Spiral on her palm. _'Almost there,'_ the thought in growing excitement, focusing back on the others as Weiss began to read.

 ** _Sackcloth and Ashes_**

 ** _Chapter Five: Initiation_**

"Looks like you were right, Ren," Nora stated with a smile, one that Ren shared with a faint one of his own.

 **"I'm telling you, Oz," a man spoke up, taking a short swig from a flask before continuing, "you've gotta keep an eye on that kid. He's been hanging around with the wrong sort of people."**

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called out, happy to see the man who taught her how to use her weapon.

 **A man with silver hair and brown eyes looked to the speaker, a cup of warm coffee in his hands.**

"He's talking with the Headmaster," Pyrrha noted. "It sounds like they're talking about Naruto."

"Wait," Weiss spoke up. "That bird last chapter… Was that Qrow?"

The others, sans Ruby and Yang, considered the question. The two sisters already knew, staying silent as Weiss resumed reading.

 **"And who has he been seen with, exactly?"**

 **"My sister, for starters," came the immediate answer. "And last I checked, Raven wasn't the type to hang around with random people unless they shared her mindset or were useful to her."**

"I wish I could say he was wrong," Yang sighed out. "I still need to find her and see for myself…"

 **"That's concerning, but has he done anything to warrant suspicion other than being seen with Raven? Has he acted out against the public, or harmed anyone?"**

 **"It'll only be a matter of time with Raven involved."**

"Your uncle is pretty cynical," Blake noted.

"He's been through a lot," Ruby defended. "I figured that was why he always drinks…"

Yang nodded in agreement. "Can't really blame him for thinking like that, after everything he's bound to have seen."

 **"Qrow, I know that Raven's views on the world aren't exactly…acceptable,**

"No offense to Ozpin," Yang began with a small frown, "but who is he to say what's _acceptable_ or not?"

 **but you can't blame her for anything that this boy has yet to do," Ozpin stated, setting his coffee down on his desk to steeple his hands together in his lap.**

 **"I can if she's given him the means to do so," the red-eyed man retorted.**

"The _means_?" Jaune repeated.

"The gun," Ren explained, earning a look of realization from the blonde.

 **"When I saw the kid before Raven talked to him, he had nothing on him in terms of weapons; and everyone with training keeps a weapon on hand wherever they go. Next thing I see, my sister gives him some kind of package and _the next day_ , the guy's got a firearm on hand. That can't be coincidence, Oz."**

"He has a point," Pyrrha noted with a slight wince. "It still isn't really his business, though."

 **"I suppose not. However, I can't do anything unless I have solid evidence to support this. While I trust you with many things, I can't just place him under surveillance based on a hunch; which is what this is." He raised a hand to stop Qrow from saying anything. "And you know this, Qrow. Your views on your sister are, regrettably, biased thanks to your past with her."**

"Biased thoughts lead to jumping to your own conclusions," Blake stated with a frown. "And those conclusions could lead to a situation getting way out of hand…"

"Like with the Faunus and the White Fang?" Yang asked softly.

"…Yeah," the feline girl confirmed just as softly.

 **The man took a breath to steady himself before crossing his arms. "So then…you'll do nothing?"**

 **"I keep an eye on all of my potential students, my friend; especially those who show something noteworthy. Perhaps Mr. Uzumaki will show us something worth keeping an eye on."**

"He will," Kushina said with a sigh. "Even if he's trying not to draw too much attention, something will come up that will morally force his hand."

"Morally?" Nora repeated, her tone curious.

"My son has always been an emotional young man. He lives by his heart's guidance, and that heart can't ignore the pain of others. Something will catch his attention and make him act."

"I wonder what…" Jaune mused.

 **The two men shared a look, and Qrow nodded to the man before leaving his office. Ozpin wouldn't let him down.**

 **He never had.**

"Looks like Uncle Qrow and Ozpin have known each other for a long time," Ruby noted.

"I wonder _how long_ , though," Yang added with a faint frown.

* * *

 **Jolting awake, Naruto hissed in pain and grabbed where his arm connected to metal while his eyes were wide in panic. Looking around, he saw that everyone else was still asleep since it was still pretty early in the morning.**

"Nightmares of his final clash," Kushina deduced sadly. "Oh, Naruto…"

The others felt bad for the woman and how much her son had gone through.

 **"Dammit…" he cursed softly. "Another nightmare…" Getting out of his bedroll, he grabbed his clothes and moved through the throng of sleeping students to change.**

 **Unknown to him, a pair of mismatching eyes opened as he got up and watched him leave. They narrowed in slight concern before Neo decided to speak with the blonde Uzumaki later. Something was bothering him; she could feel it.**

"I'll say it again," Pyrrha noted with a faint smile, "she really had bonded with Naruto. I can tell she truly worries about him."

"You said Naruto could make friends with even his enemies, right?" Blake asked Kushina, earning a nod. "I guess Neo could've been an enemy under the right circumstances."

"She _was_ seen helping Roman escape after we busted the mech he stole," Yang supported.

 **After he got dressed in his new "combat gear", Naruto decided to go for a morning run so that he could clear his head. Running around the campus was sure to do the trick, and he figured that he could finish a couple of laps before the initiation was set to begin.**

 **Passing by the students again as he headed for the door, he moved past someone who should've been familiar to him had he been paying attention. The person's bow twitched and an amber eye cracked open just in time to see him head out the door. The other eye opened as Blake sat up and stared at the door, frowning in confusion at why her fellow Faunus was up so early.**

 ** _'Who are you?'_ she thought to herself before she decided to get some more rest.**

"Curiousity killed the Blake," Yang teased, earning a slap to the back of the head by Ruby.

"No! Bad Yang!" she admonished. "No bad puns during reading time!"

" _Bad puns_?! That was comedy gold!"

Silence greeted her at that, making her pout and grumble about people with no sense of humor.

* * *

 **A couple of laps around the campus later, Naruto returned to the auditorium just in time to see the other potential students up and about. Moving through the sea of people, he made his way to where Cinder and the others had chosen to sleep last night.**

 **Bumping into someone, he turned to them and said, "Sorry."**

 **"Watch where you're going!" a girl with white hair and blue eyes shot back before she continued off to where she had been headed.**

"Geez," Nora called out. "Rude much?"

Weiss had the decency to look embarrassed at that. She would grudgingly admit that, before getting her team, she was rather…snooty.

 **"I said _sorry_ ," groused the Uzumaki with a roll of his eyes before turning back around. Once he reached the others, he asked, "Any word on where to go?"**

 **"We're supposed to head for the cliffs with our gear and weapons ready," answered Cinder, handing him his things. She was currently out of her signature dress in exchange for her cover gear.**

 **Said gear consisted of a pair of gray pants and boots, a beige leather, sleeveless jacket with light-beige details, brown gloves, a sarashi tied around her chest and another around her hips, and a pauldron on her left shoulder. She also wore a belt around her waist, which had multiple brown pouches attached to it.**

"That confirms it," Blake declared with narrowed eyes. "I saw her wearing that when the Grimm broke through that underground tunnel and into the city."

"But she helped us fend off the Grimm," Ruby noted.

"Probably so that she wouldn't draw any suspicion towards her," Weiss shot down. "That woman is a strategist, and she's making sure to put as many odds in her favor as possible."

"Her helping us out did nothing to slow down her plans," Yang added, her lilac eyes bleeding to red. "They only helped move them along…"

 **"Nice outfit," Naruto commented offhandedly as he put on his holster pack and holstered his gun. He then strapped the sheathe for his trench knife to his left leg while putting ammo packs for his gun in the pouch opposite to said weapon. "The dress made you stand out too much, if you ask me."**

 **"Yes," agreed Cinder with a smirk as the four of them headed for the cliffs. "I thought so too; and I appreciate the compliment, Naruto."**

 **He shrugged off her thanks as they headed upwards with the other students, being instructed to stand on pads at the top of the cliff that overlooked an expansive forest. Seeing it, the displaced shinobi couldn't help giving a smirk of his own.**

Kushina smirked as well. "A Leaf ninja about to enter a forest… There's no better advantage."

 **"Oh yeah… I'm home," he declared as he stood on his pad, testing the suspension on it. as other students got on their own, he looked between the forest below and the pads as his smirk stayed in place. "This might be fun…"**

 **"What might be?" a familiar voice asked, making him turn to see Pyrrha.**

"At least you're there with him," Ruby noted, smiling at the tall girl.

"I don't know if my presence will be enough to change things, though," Pyrrha returned.

 **With a bright smile and wave, she greeted, "Hello again."**

 **"Hey, yourself," he returned, smiling back to her. "And I was talking about how we're gonna be launched into the forest from these things we're standing on."**

 **She took a moment to observe what he had noted before nodding in understanding. "I see. I guess I can see why it would be fun for you."**

 **He shrugged at that. "I've always liked to have some fun with what I do.**

Kushina and Blake both snorted at that, remembering the pranks he got away with in the village and the chases that followed.

 **Being launched into a forest instead of entering it on our own is different; and I like it."**

 **She only smiled at his honest response. "It _does_ sound like it'll be a nice change of pace. And I hope that we'll become partners, Naruto."**

 **His smile strained a little at that. He would've liked to be her partner too, but he and the others had plans to change things. If those plans were meant to go through, then he, unfortunately, couldn't become her partner.**

"He'd be a nice partner," Pyrrha admitted, making Jaune flinch. "But, I'm more than happy with my team," she turned to smile at him, "and my partner."

The blonde blushed sheepishly, missing the knowing smiles the other women had while Ren mentally prayed for him and Pyrrha.

 **So, he said nothing and just smiled as best as he could to her as she was launched from her pad into the forest.**

 **"Good luck, young man," a voice he didn't recognize said to him, making him turn to see the man that Cinder and Raven told him was Ozpin. "And remember, who you make eye contact with will be your partner for the foreseeable future."**

"Seriously?" Kushina asked in disbelief. " _That_ is how partnerships were made?!"

The others awkwardly confirmed the answer. Looking back, it _was_ an odd method; but, it worked out in the end.

 **The two locked eyes with one another, and Naruto felt his pad coil downwards in preparation to launch him. "That's just stupid," he deadpanned as he was launched.**

"I agree, ttebane!"

 **Watching him fly off, Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and replied aloud, "We'll see, Mr. Uzumaki."**

"Five lien says he gets paired with Cinder," Yang called out.

"I say it'll be Emerald," Ren replied, accepting the bet.

"No way," Blake joined in. "It'll be Neo. I guarantee you that she'll find a way to make it happen."

"Bump it up to ten lien, then?" Yang challenged.

"Deal," Blake and Ren agreed, much to the amused interest of the others.

* * *

 **Hurtling through the air was nothing new to Naruto, since he had experienced that many times during the war. What made this different was that it wasn't a true warzone he was in, and that it was children that were being tested.**

"No offense," Kushina spoke up before the others could, "but in the eyes of a veteran, that's what you _are_. You're all still students, and you haven't had to deal with war personally. It changes you, and in my son's case, it made him more cynical than he used to be."

The others backed down at that, still looking bothered. "…We can help him though, right?" Ruby asked softly.

That desire to help made Kushina smile warmly. "Of course, you can."

 **While it was true that before and during the war he could've been referred to as a child, it was still _war_ ; something that forces you to grow up.**

"See? It changes you."

 **His eyes flicked side to side as he looked for a good spot to land, absently hearing a familiar voice in the wind cry out, "Birdy, no!"**

Ruby blushed as red as her namesake at that, remembering what had happened before she even landed in the forest.

 **Despite himself, he couldn't help but chuckle at that, finding Ruby's concern for _collateral damage_ to be adorable. It was something he needed with war memories fresh on his mind. It was a counterbalance that he craved.**

"I'm already helping!" she cheered, her earlier blush gone.

 **Mentally thanking the girl, he finally picked a branch and sent out his grapple hand towards it, spearing the clawed digits into the wood deep enough to anchor him as he had it reel him in from midair. With a jerk of the arm, the hand was freed and clicked back in place as he tucked and rolled on the ground, standing up on his feet without any issue.**

"That is pretty cool," Yang admitted. "Still, I'd rather have both arms than a replacement one."

A strange shudder went through her, as if she had avoided something horrible. Mentally, she shrugged it off; but it didn't make it any less weird.

 **"Alright, let's see… Find a partner, find the relics, get back to cliff. Simple enough," he summarized as he breathed in the natural air that the city severely lacked. "I missed this," he noted softly, basking in the feeling of nature and entering Sage Mode for a brief moment; just enough to get a general idea of where the other students were heading.**

 **Once he had it, he released the natural energy gathered and started walking. It'd been too long since he just _walked_ through the woods. He wanted to savor the feeling.**

"My parents would act like that sometimes," Blake noted. "They would savor random moments, almost like they were trying to remember how they felt."

"That's something veterans or survivors struggle with," Kushina explained. "The experience that they lived through was so intense that it dulled the feelings of everyday things; such as _walking_ in my son's case."

* * *

 **"Seems like Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Belladonna have been partnered up," Glynda Goodwitch, on of Beacon's professors and Ozpin's trusted partner, reported as she kept updates on the students. She swiped through her scroll tablet, checking out other partnerings worth mention. "And the Schnee heiress has been paired with the young Rose girl."**

"Same match-ups, by the looks of it," Weiss noted. "I wonder what would it have been like with other partners and teammates, though."

"I prefer how they are now," Ren said in response. "I believe in the notion of _not knowing what you had until it's gone_ , and I'd rather savor what I have now than change it."

The others smiled at him, Nora even giving him a grateful hug that made his cheeks flush.

 **"Interesting partner for Miss Rose," mused the Headmaster, taking a sip from his mug. "They'll have a rocky start, for sure."**

Both members of Ice Flower cringed at that.

 **Glynda said nothing about that as she continued looking through the students. Her brows furrowed slightly when she came upon another partnering. "…The Fall girl was able to pair up with one of her cohorts."**

"Either Neo or Emerald, then," Yang noted with a pout, knowing she lost the bet.

 **"…" Ozpin said nothing.**

 **"Sir, why is it that you've let that girl and her allies join the school? It's obvious that they're more than their transcripts say they are, considering the reports Qrow gave us."**

"Good question," Pyrrha agreed with a frown.

 **"There's a saying, Glynda. _Keep your friends close_ …"**

"And your enemies closer," finished Weiss. "While I don't like being around potential threats, I can see why he would use that ideology."

 **He didn't need to finish, and she knew it. "And what of the other two seen with them? Qrow never mentioned anything about them."**

 **"He spoke to me about the boy early this morning. He's convinced that we need to keep a closer eye on him than Miss Fall."**

 **"He's that much of a threat?" Glynda asked in surprise, not having expected that.**

"Hey! Naruto's not a threat!" Ruby yelled out with a glare, one that was shared by Blake.

Yang nudged the Faunus girl with a grin, making the poor girl blush once again at her teasing.

 **"Qrow believes that; though I'm willing to give the boy the benefit of the doubt for now. He hasn't done anything more than get in touch with the wrong people. And even then, there's nothing he's done to warrant suspicion."**

 **Glynda hummed thoughtfully at that, turning to the video feed of the blonde in question. She studied him through the feed, brows creasing faintly. "He moves as if he's trying to commit a simple walk to memory. Perhaps this is connected to why he's got a false arm?"**

"Got it in one, Glynda," Kushina confirmed, not caring that the Glynda in the story couldn't hear her.

 **"Perhaps, but it isn't our place to speculate; not at the present time. For now, we will watch over him like we do for _all_ of our students."**

 **"Yes, sir."**

"A good excuse to keep tabs on him," Nora pointed out with a small frown.

* * *

 **Having a blonde teammate was something Pyrrha was hoping for.**

"Oh no," said redhead spoke up, turning to her partner. "Whatever is said, just know that I _am_ happy that you became my partner, Jaune."

He looked concerned, but he nodded in understanding.

 **Unfortunately, it was the wrong one in question.**

Ah… That explained it.

 **Still, from her interactions earlier with Jaune, she had a feeling that she still found a nice teammate.**

"You are," agreed Pyrrha with a warm smile.

 **Though, while he was a _nice_ teammate, that wasn't to say that he was a…functional one.**

The J and P of JNPR both cringed at that.

 **For starters, she had to help him unlock his Aura; something that should've been unlocked years ago.**

"I never needed my Aura before I came to Beacon," Jaune admitted with some shame, prompting Pyrrha to place a hand on his shoulder.

 **He held his weapons – and himself – with low confidence, which was concerning.**

"Again, I didn't really need those," Jaune continued. "I lived well-enough with my family and I wanted to become something more."

"I'd say you succeeded, Jaune," Pyrrha complimented, earning a smile.

 **And currently, he had led the two of them into a dark cavern, found a "relic" which turned out to be an egg of sorts, and was flung away by a Death Stalker that had chased them outside of the cave and was now after her.**

"I remember that…" both members of JNPR grumbled. That was not one of their best moments; at all.

 **…Part of her believed her luck wouldn't have been this bad with the _right_ blonde.**

 ** _'I'm sorry,'_ she mentally apologized to Jaune, feeling guilty for belittling him; even if it was in her mind.**

"I really am," she stressed.

"I know, but don't worry about it. That version of you isn't here right now; and I prefer it that way."

She blushed prettily at that, once again making the other girls grin knowingly.

Leaning over, Yang whispered to her team, "They have it _bad_ …"

"Yep," her teammates all agreed in amusement.

* * *

 **Arms cradling the back of his head as he walked, Naruto only rose a brow when he saw a hyperactive girl with orange hair – something he subconsciously found himself jealous of – tear through dozens of trees while joyriding on the back of a pissed off Ursa.**

Nora laughed like an evil tyrant at that. "Fear Queen Nora and her mighty Ursa steed! **"**

 **A part of him wondered if this was what Kakashi felt like whenever a "black cat" crossed his path.**

"I still find it both funny and depressing that Kakashi took on Obito's quirk after his supposed death," Kushina noted in concern.

 **…**

 **…**

"One awkward silence later," Yang joked, earning dry looks from the others. "No sense of humor; any of you…"

 **Nah, the man was obviously full of shit about that.**

"Language!" Ruby admonished.

"Calm down, sis. It's not that big a deal."

"Says the girl who only curses when dad _isn't_ around," the younger sibling fired back.

Yang coughed awkwardly at that.

 **After all, he even confessed why he was always late to the blonde Uzumaki months before the war. He wanted time to talk with those he lost whose names were on the Memorial Stone in the village.**

 **Blinking, he suddenly found himself wondering if he should make his own memorial before he savagely destroyed that thought. _'They aren't dead,'_ he reminded himself. _'Until you know_ for sure _that they're dead, don't_ ever _think that again, Uzumaki!'_**

The readers all cringed at that, concerned for the Naruto in the story.

 **Nodding to himself in agreement to that promise, he absently noted that a young man dressed in green with magenta eyes ran after the Ursa-riding girl. "Nora! Wait up!" he called out to her, voice full of concern.**

Everyone save for Nora gave Ren pitying looks, which made him slump comically.

 **It was understandable since the girl was riding something that wouldn't hesitate to kill her.**

"And you _still_ rode that thing?!" Weiss cried out.

"It was fun!" Nora defended proudly.

"…There are no words…"

 **He was about to follow before his senses picked up something above him. Turning his gaze upward, he locked eyes with Neo, who was floating down, almost casually, with her umbrella.**

Blake smirked as Yang and Ren handed her the lien they had bet. "Told you."

 **She smirked at him as she landed, making him shake his head in amusement.**

 **"Took you long enough to land," he joked.**

 **Shrugging, she closed her umbrella and grabbed it at the center before doing a handspring and settling herself on his shoulders. Bending forward so that she looked at him upside down, she gave him another smirk that he chuckled at.**

"Guess she declared that her spot," Yang mused before turning to Blake with a growing grin.

"Make a joke or a comment, and I will shave your head in your sleep," the Faunus girl threatened with her amber eyes glowing.

"Not the precious!" Yang cried out in horror, backing away with a hiss and red eyes.

Weiss face palmed at that while Ruby groaned in embarrassment.

 **"Off we go, then," he stated, still in a joking manner as he followed after the two from before. "Glad to have you as my partner, Neo-chan."**

 **"Same," was all she said.**

* * *

 **"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked after said girl was _saved_ from a harsh landing by Jaune flying into her and sending them both into a tree.**

 **"I-" Yang tried to say.**

"Oh no… Not this, please!" Yang pleaded, not wanting to experience _this_ moment again.

 **She was cut off by an Ursa – the one that Nora had been riding – crashed through some trees and collapsed after Nora shot it with one of her grenades.**

 **"Aww…" she whined sadly. "It's broken…"**

"Not this time, too!" Nora whined, crying waterfall tears.

 **Not far behind her, an out of breath Ren stopped to rest, using the downed Ursa for support. "Nora," he began, taking a few deep breaths before finishing, "please…don't ever do that again."**

 **"Look, Ren!" she called out to him, making everyone see that she was somehow _yards_ away from where she once was and was holding up a gold Rook chess piece.**

"You don't secretly have super speed too…do you?" Ruby asked unsurely.

"Relax," Kushina placated in amusement. "That was pure sugar rush fueling her."

The others went silent before Blake spoke up. "That answers so many questions…"

 **"I'm Queen of the Castle~!" she sang eagerly before skipping over to him.**

 **Blake couldn't help but ask, "Did… Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"**

 **Once again, Yang tried to say something. "I-"**

"Dammit, not again!" Yang yelled.

 **But again, she was cut off by more trees falling as a Death Stalker chased Pyrrha and she was only able to keep herself inches from being taken out by its claws. "A little help, please!" she called out, sounding very winded from the continuous sprint she was forced to maintain.**

 **"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?"**

 **Blake once again felt the need to ask the obvious; though she was honestly amused at how often her partner was being cut off.**

"Looking back, it _was_ pretty funny," Blake admitted with a chuckle.

"Laugh it up, Kitten…"

 **That amusement grew when Yang growled and then, almost literally, exploded. "I can't take it anymore!" Her eyes were red, a sign of her anger. "Can everyone just chill out for _two seconds_ before something crazy happens again?!"**

 ** _'Ah, classic,'_ Blake mused, fighting a laugh.**

"It really is," Kushina agreed, sharing a low-five with Blake.

 **Ruby was looking up with a worried face, and she gently nudged her sister. "Um… Yang?"**

 **Said blonde slumped in defeat.**

"Son of a…!"

"Yang, don't you dare!"

 **"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" they all heard Weiss scream over the wind as she held onto a Nevermore's talon for dear life.**

 **"I said _jump_ …" Ruby mumbled.**

"I really-"

"Don't care," Weiss cut off with a small glare. "You still left me."

 **"She's gonna fall," Blake noted.**

 **"She'll be fine," the young Rose waved off, though she herself didn't sound all too sure.**

 **The sound of her scream shattered that notion as she began to descend at rapid speed.**

 **"She's falling," Ren stated.**

"The dry tones _really_ show how much you all cared about my well-being," Weiss sarcastically noted, earning sheepish looks from the others.

 **What followed was Jaune jumping from the tree he was in so that he could catch Weiss. While he succeeded, he forgot to remember that gravity _always_ won. And win it did as the two fell to the ground, with Weiss landing on top of the swordsman; and in a painful way for said Arc.**

"It uh… It was painful," Jaune agreed.

"Was that a crack about _my weight_?!" Weiss yelled, taking it entirely the wrong way.

"N-No! It wasn't; honest!"

Seeing as Weiss was…preoccupied, Ruby decided to take over the reading.

 **To finish things off, Pyrrha finally couldn't take the maintained speed anymore and was sent flying by the Death Stalker, landing with an exhausted huff before Ruby and the others. Yang saw this as the perfect time to summarize their situation.**

 **"Great! The gang's all here! Now, we can die together!" she exclaimed with false cheer.**

"Sounds like a plan, Other Me!" Yang agreed in total sarcasm.

 **The Death Stalker turned to them and prepared to engage while the Nevermore was circling around for another round. Seeing no sense in staying, Ruby quickly grabbed a golden Knight, unknowingly matching the one Yang grabbed before, while Jaune grabbed the other golden Rook.**

"Same teams as we have now," Jaune noted. "You were on the ball earlier, Ren."

 **Left alone in the ruins were two black Queens.**

"That's so ironic that it's not even funny," Weiss noted dryly.

 **One of which was grabbed by a slender hand that belonged to Cinder. "Fitting," she mused, smirking in amusement.**

 **"I'll say," Emerald agreed, taking notice of the other eight at the two Grimm in range of them. "Think we should help?"**

 **"I'd rather not, but we can't ignore an opportunity to remove any suspicion from us," Cinder answered, forming a ball of fire and sending it hurtling into the Death Stalker's face, making it roar in surprise and pain.**

"Bitch…" Yang growled out.

"Yeah, she is," Ruby agreed, for once not admonishing the use of _bad language_.

 **"What the-?" Yang asked before turning to see two girls moving over to stand beside them.**

 **"So sorry," the amber-eyed one apologized, holding another fireball. "I hope you don't mind if we cut in."**

 **"By all means," Weiss answered.**

"As much as I don't like admitting this, we got pretty lucky that day," Weiss noted. "The help would've been a real boon back then…"

 **The Nevermore decided to make its presence known as it dived down at them all. Wings tucked, it shot down at high speed for an intentional crash landing that was cut off by an orange and pink blur slamming into it, striking the side of its face and throwing off its aim so that it hit some trees off to the side.**

 **Landing behind them all, having used the recoil to propel them, was Naruto and Neo, with the girl having used her umbrella as a makeshift ram that was enhanced by Naruto's chakra.**

"Nice combo attack!" Ruby praised excitedly.

 **"Did we miss the ass-kicking?" Naruto asked, smirking at them with Neo.**

 **"Naruto!" Pyrrha, Ruby, and Yang exclaimed happily while Blake looked pleased to see him as well.**

"Way to make an entrance," Yang praised with a grin.

 **"Took your time, Blondie," Emerald teased, readying her weapons in their gun forms.**

 **Shrugging, he replied, "Sorry. I got lost on the Road of Life."**

A loud smack was heard and the Beacon students turned to Kushina, who had her hand over her face as she shook it slowly. "Why, Naruto-kun? Why would you use _that_ line?"

 **Silence greeted him before it was broken by Yang snickering. "Classic!"**

"It kinda is," said blonde agreed with her own snicker, earning a dry look from the eldest of the readers.

 **Neo took this time to leap off the blonde and grab the last black Queen piece. Turning to Cinder, she saw the woman smirk and nod, making her return it. She then moved over to her partner as he faced the two damaged Grimm. "Fight?"**

 **"That's the plan," he answered with a grin before he charged at the Death Stalker, who looked the most recovered out of the two. "Finish off the Nevermore and get out of here!" he ordered the others as he, Neo, Cinder, and Emerald all took on the Death Stalker.**

"So, four-on-one and eight-on-one," Weiss noted. "That should make things go much more smoothly for us."

 **"Right!" Ruby replied, shooting for the birdlike Grimm with reckless abandon.**

"Or not," Weiss retracted, palming her face.

"Hey! I've gotten better!" Ruby cried indignantly.

 **"Ruby, wait!" Yang called out, only for it to be too late since the Nevermore screeched and stuck outwards with its wings, hitting Ruby and sending her tumbling back.**

 **"I-I'm okay!" she called out, sounding dazed.**

"…Yeah, I wasn't okay," Ruby admitted, a comical cloud of gloom forming above her.

 **The Nevermore took to the air and turned, sending forth a rain of feathers with sharpened quills that were mean to skewer her. The young Rose was able to evade them for the most part, but one of them pinned her down by her cloak, leaving her trapped.**

 **"Ruby!" Yang called out again, racing towards her sister with Blake and the others in tow.**

 **More feathers rained down towards the trapped girl, and they would've killed her if a thick wall of ice hadn't been formed just in the nick of time to intercept and capture them. "What…?" Ruby asked, looking surprised.**

"Thanks for the save, Weiss. I…don't think I ever really thanked you for it."

Weiss looked surprised at the humbled tone her partner had. Slowly, she gave a soft smile and replied, "That's what teammates are for."

Ruby smiled back, happy to have a better connection with her partner.

 **"I swear, you are so childish," she heard Weiss admonish. "And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and _don't_ even get me started on your fighting style."**

 **Ruby cringed at every put-down.**

And so did the real Ruby.

 **"But," the next thing made Ruby perk up, "I suppose I could be a bit…difficult.**

"A _little_?" Yang repeated with a raised brow.

"Hush, you!" the heiress fired back.

 **So, if we're going to do this, we need to do it together. If you quit trying to show off," she took a moment to make sure the Nevermore was kept occupied by the others, "I'll try to be a bit…nicer."**

 **"I wasn't trying to show off," Ruby replied softly, sounding slightly ashamed. "I just wanted you to know that I can do this."**

 **Weiss rose a brow at that before giving a faint smile. "You're fine." Ruby smiled back and was helped to her feet by the heiress. "Now c'mon, the others need our help."**

 **Left alone, Ruby took a moment to compose herself before she rushed after her partner, ready to do her part.**

Repeating the very words she said back then, Ruby whispered to herself, "Normal knees…"

* * *

 **"You seem to be in a good mood, Naruto," commented Cinder as she and said blonde teamed up and kept the pincers of the Grimm at bay. She was using her fire to form twin swords of black glass that she used almost expertly.**

 **He himself was using his new arm to hold back the other pincer while Emerald and Neo fired at will on the Grimm's face.**

"Damn… That arm has some power to it," Yang commented.

"Actually, I think it's _him_ that has that power," Blake corrected.

Yang paused for a second before she turned sheepish. "Oh yeah… Powerhouse war vet…"

 **"Just been a while since I had a fight. I'm a bit," he stopped to grab the pincer, digging his clawed fingers into it while pulling out his Desert Eagle and firing of a few rounds, "on edge, y'know." He then holstered the gun once again and tugged the Grimm hard, pulling it closer to him so that he could boot it with a chakra enhanced foot to its face, sending it flying while his cable extended, keeping the Grimm within range. "I need to get myself back under control before I get stir crazy."**

"I was the same way when I had Kurama sealed into me and was pregnant with Naruto," Kushina noted fondly, chuckling at the memory. "I would get so stir crazy that I had to come up with newer and crazier things that I could safely do without putting Naruto's growth at risk."

 **"I understand. Then, would you like to take this Grimm on alone?" she suggested, using her fire to change the swords into a bow and some black arrows, firing a few of them with deadly accuracy.**

"I would hate to be hit by one of those things," Jaune said with a cringe.

 **With a grunt, Naruto jerked his arm and tugged the cable, pulling the Grimm back and releasing his hand from its pincer. "I'd appreciate it," he said calmly before ducking and spinning, getting low enough to be under the airborne Grimm so that he could kick it upwards from its belly.**

 **With it catching more air, he ran forward a few feet before hitting a backflip, jumping high enough to be over the Grimm while his left hand pulled out his trench knife and enhanced it with Wind Style chakra.**

"That'll allow for a clean cut through the Death Stalker," Kushina informed the others.

 **"Do we help him?" Emerald asked, stepping up to Cinder alongside Neo.**

 **The woman held them back with an outstretched arm, never looking away from the fight. "No. Let's see what he's capable of."**

 **Neo smirked at that, having a good idea what he was going to do and simply waited for it to happen. Absently, she never noticed her tongue poke out and lick her lips in excitement.**

"…Is she getting horny off of this?!" Yang asked with a grin that struggled to hold back her laughter.

The others blushed at that while Kushina and Blake both frowned; the former because it involved her son and the latter because it involved the man she had grown attracted to.

 **Back with Naruto, he was right above the Grimm, looking it in the eye with his belly to the sky. "I want you to send a message to your master," he stated before twisting in the air and shooting down, extending the wind blade of his weapon to an incredible length that cleaved the Grimm in half like a hot knife through butter. When he landed, he cut the flow of chakra and watched the Grimm disintegrate, never moving his gaze away from its red eyes. "Tell them…I want to talk…"**

* * *

 ** _"…face to face."_**

"What the…?" Nora spoke up, saying what everyone else was about to ask.

 **That was what the person seated on a throne in a dark chamber heard as she felt one of her Grimm die.**

"Wait… _HER Grimm_?!" Ruby repeated in total shock that was shared by her classmates. Even Kushina looked a bit surprised at the reveal.

 **Her black eyes, enhanced by the red irises within, looked intrigued at the message sent to her. A smirk formed on her paled lips as she connected the speaker to the intense life energy spike she felt a few weeks ago.**

 **"A talk, you say?" she mused aloud, standing up from her throne and moving towards one of the windows within the chamber, letting the outside light reveal herself to the world.**

 **She was a woman with skin that was a deathly pallor, covered with tortuous, deep red and purple veins that run up her arms and face. The woman gave off an heir of dark regality, dressed in a very long black robe with red designs that resembled eyes, a ring resembling an insect on her right index finger, and pure white hair that was formed into a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments were suspended; making it resemble an arachnoid of sorts.**

"Holy crap…" Yang whispered.

"She's…so dark," Pyrrha noted.

"But she has an odd…charisma about her," Weiss added.

"It's like she's a seductive evil," Blake summarized. "And she's become interested in Naruto.

That got the others worried.

 **"Very well then," she continued, still smirking as she stared at the expanse of her world that was teeming with Grimm. "I look forward to our…talk, newcomer."**

"Oh boy…" Ruby whimpered out, feeling uncomfortable.

* * *

 **"Ruby Rose," Ozpin was heard saying, having been naming the new Teams that would become a part of Beacon, "Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. Together, the four of you gathered the White Knight pieces, and are henceforth named Team RWBY…led by Ruby Rose."**

 **Both the new leader and the heiress looked shocked at that while everyone else applauded the young woman respectfully. "Way to go, Red," echoed Naruto's voice as he gave the girl a supportive thumbs-up; one that made her smile back.**

"Thanks, Naruto," Ruby spoke up, smiling at the image of the whiskered blonde.

 **"Next, we have Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. The four of you gathered the White Rook pieces, and are henceforth named Team JNPR…led by Jaune Arc."**

 **Said blonde looked like he might be ill at that, never expecting himself to be given such a responsibility. Pyrrha gave him a supportive pat on the back, but it was a bit too strong and he fell in a heap, earning a few laughs and an apology from her as she helped him back up.**

"It happened there too?" Jaune asked, slumping in defeat while Pyrrha rubbed his back consolingly.

 ** _'He needs to get his act together, fast; or he won't last long out there,'_ Naruto thought with a frown as he and his obvious teammates walked onto the stage.**

Jaune cringed at that. "Yeah… I needed a lot of work when I first started here," he grudgingly admitted. No one liked to admit their faults, and it was hard to have his thrown in his face. That didn't make them go away; he had to accept them so he could fix them.

 **"Lastly, having retrieved the Black Queen pieces, we have Cinder Fall, Naruto Uzumaki, Neopolitan, and Emerald Sustrai." He took a moment to regard them all, earning a faint smirk from Cinder that he didn't react to. "Due to having a Team CMNN (Carmine) already in commission, they will be named team FUNS (Funhaus)…led by Cinder Fall."**

"The hell kinda name is that?" Yang asked, scratching her head.

"Maybe it has something to do with Remnant?" Ruby threw in.

"I'll look up some old folklore for that name," Blake suggested. "I'll see what I can find."

"I'm a bit curious as well," Weiss admitted. "You mind if I looked with you?"

"Not at all."

 **Rolling his eyes, Naruto mused, _'Of course it is.'_**

 **The newest team faced the crowd and a few people gave the only male member a smile that he returned with a faint grin. Noticing this, Cinder felt her brows furrow slightly and she knew that these connections being formed by the Uzumaki would get in the way of her plans.**

 **She had to do something before he got too attached.**

"Bitch can try!"

"Yang!"

"What?! She's deliberately trying to keep him from being friends with us!"

"That doesn't mean you need to keep calling her…that word!"

"The hell it doesn't!"

"I'ma tell dad!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me!"

The others all had collective sweatdrops at that, and Weiss awkwardly took the book back so she could resume the story.

* * *

 **Far from the school, yet still aware of what was going on, a red eyed ravenette smirked at the last team to be announced. "Good work," she praised aloud. She pocketed her listening equipment and added, "Keep it up, Naruto."**

"Keeping tabs on him, is she?" Nora questioned.

"How does no one know she _bugged the school_?!" Weiss cried out.

"I doubt she cares if they do know, Weiss," Ren answered her.

 **A crow's caw made her pause in her exit, and she turned to look at it with restrained annoyance.**

 **"Still spying on your little sister, Qrow?" she asked the bird, making it caw before it flashed black and became a man she had known since her birth.**

"So, it was Uncle Qrow who was that bird from the previous chapter," Yang concluded. "I wonder if mom can become a bird too…"

"Think we can, too?" Ruby asked.

"Not to burst your bubble, sis, but I think it only applies to those with Branwen blood in them," Yang shot down.

"Aww…"

 **"What do you want?"**

 **"I was gonna ask you the same question," he retorted. "Only, I would've also asked this: What's your goal with the blonde brat that's with the enemy?"**

"It's weird seeing him like this," Ruby noted. "I'm so used to seeing him…"

"Drunk on his feet and ready to keel over?" Yang supplied.

"Yeah, that."

 **"Oh… _The enemy_ , huh? Funny, I don't see her as a real _enemy_ of mine; only her master," quipped Raven, crossing her arms.**

 **"Quit playing games," Qrow stated, crossing his own and locking his red eyes with his sister's own. "What's your interest in him?"**

 **"None of your concern," she immediately shot down.**

"It really isn't," Pyrrha agreed. "I know the situation is tense, but he's treating Naruto as if he was going to become a criminal in an instant."

 **"Who I speak with and who I associate with are not for you to get involved in. You cut yourself out of my life when you turned your back on the tribe, _big brother_."**

"Tribe?" Yang repeated, not remembering any stories of a tribe her mother or uncle belonged to.

 **He said nothing, only narrowing his eyes at her.**

 **"At any rate, he knows what's at stake and I've warned him about your _enemy_ ," she added, air quoting the last word. "I've warned him about Ozpin too."**

"It's good that she did," Kushina agreed, earning surprised looks from the others. "It's obvious that your Headmaster is keeping a good number of things under wraps. Why would he need to? What's so confidential that he can't let the people he helps protect know?"

"Sometimes, people aren't ready to know such things," Weiss tried to defend.

"Point taken. However, that doesn't make Ozpin any less suspicious. Still," she took a breath, "that doesn't mean that YOUR Ozpin is the same. It could just be the story's version of him."

The others wanted to believe that, but they already had their own doubts about it. Kushina's words only brought them back up.

 **"Ozpin isn't-"**

 **"Don't talk to me about what _that_ man _is_ and _isn't_ ," she cut off, hair flickering red for an instant before she calmed herself.**

"Looks like there's some bad blood between mom and Ozpin," Yang noted with discomfort.

 **"I know what he's capable of, what he hides, and what he wants to do." She smirked as a portal took shape behind her and she began to back-step into it. "I just hope that whoever he picks is ready for the sacrifice they will have to make for _his_ selfish desires," she finished before the portal closed and Qrow was left alone.**

"Sacrifice…?" the teens all repeated, each of them looking uncomfortable at the notion.

Kushina only frowned in silence, her mind working up possible conclusions.

 **He stood in silence for a moment before taking out his flask and taking a good gulp of it. "Dammit…" he cursed softly before a crow took flight and headed off into the horizon.**

"Well…that chapter had some ups and downs," Ruby noted awkwardly.

"Let's hope the next chapter will be a bit easier to get through," Weiss added.

They closed the book and prepared to leave before Kushina stopped them. They turned to her, taking note of how she stared intently at her hand. They saw her smile softly before she turned her palm to them, letting them all see the red spiral of the Uzumaki Clan.

"It's time," she said simply, her smile still in place.

"For what?" Nora asked in confusion.

Kushina bit her left thumb hard enough to draw blood, worrying the others, and traced the blood around the spiraling outline of her clan symbol. The mark glowed brightly before she gently placed her palm on the chair beside her.

A burst of yellow, red, and orange smoke filled the small room, making the students cough as it entered their lungs and cut off their vision. When it cleared, they all had widened eyes at the new body that was seen sitting in the chair Kushina touched. Out of all of them, Blake's eyes were the widest and her cheeks started to flush.

Seated in the chair was a young man who looked their age (save for Ruby, due to her being 15). He was taller than Kushina, but a few of them were still taller than he was. His blonde hair was wild and spiky and his eyes were as blue as the ocean waters. He was dressed in an orange sweatshirt that had a zipper that closed downwards and had black stripes on the sleeves and hem. Beneath that, he had a simple white shirt that was tucked into a pair of black military styled pants. For footwear, he wore thick sandals that left his toes and heel exposed, and a symbol of the Uzumaki was seen over his heart.

He blinked in confusion and regarded them for a moment before turning to the Uzumaki woman. "Mom…?"

* * *

 **Alright, then! I think I'll cut it off there. _*evil grin*_**

 **Until next time!**

 ** _~pain17ification~_**


	6. Reading Chapter 6

**Been some time, hasn't it? Sorry for not touching this for almost a year. I'll be sure to work on the source story after this update; promise.**

 **One thing before I start: Naruto is almost nineteen in this. This makes him nearly the same age as he was during the events of _The Last_.**

 **Also, I'm hoping that this Reading could become a story all its own. So, I'll be taking steps towards that goal! Whatcha guys think?**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **pain17ification**_ **owns nothing**

* * *

The eight young adults all looked to the newcomer in open shock while Kushina pulled the man to his feet and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetheart," she gushed, elation filling her to the core.

Hugging his mother back, Naruto gave a bashful grin to the others. Honestly, he wasn't used to such openly public affection. "I missed you, too," he replied. "But, what's going on? Last thing I remember was seeing Grandpa Sage in some vision and then I'm here."

"I'll tell you what's going on soon; promise. For now, I want you to meet these wonderful people." Letting him go, Kushina directed Naruto's attention to the others. "These eight are students of this academy. They each form teams of four and I've had a great time so far with them. First, I'll introduce you to Team JNPR."

"Juniper?" he repeated, saying the name instead of the acronym.

"Yes. There's the team leader, Jaune Arc."

The slightly armored blonde gave a nervous wave. "Hey there…"

"The orange haired girl is Nora Valkyrie," Kushina continued.

"Hi!" the short girl greeted eagerly.

"The tall redhead is Pyrrha Nikos."

Said redhead gave a polite smile. "It's wonderful to meet you in person," she bid, confusing the blonde Uzumaki.

"And Lie Ren. He introduces himself like people do back home."

"So, Ren?" Naruto tested, earning a nod from the young man in question.

"Yes, that's correct. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," was the blonde's reply, giving Team JNPR a warm grin.

"Moving on, we have Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose," Kushina introduced, moving over to the all-girl team.

"Hello! I'm so happy to meet you, and I have SO many questions!" the young leader gushed.

"Nice meeting you too, Little Red," Naruto replied jovially.

"Next, her sister Yang Xiao-Long."

"Sup, Whiskers?" greeted the female blonde teasingly. "You don't know _Xiao-Long_ we've waited to meet you."

The others rolled their eyes at Yang's pun; Ruby, on the other hand, face-palmed. To their surprise, Naruto let out an amused snort.

"Let's hope you don't leave me _Yang-ing_ with your next joke," he fired back, making the others drop their jaws.

Yang, on the other hand, practically glowed with her grin. "Aha! I knew I'd like this guy! _He_ gets me!"

"Only a blonde could understand another," Weiss drawled out with a straight face before she cleared her throat to compose herself. "My name is Weiss Schnee. It's a privilege to meet you."

"Privilege?" Naruto repeated. "Don't really understand why. I'm not anyone special."

Blake frowned slightly at that. "That's not true. Your mother's told us about you, and I think you're an amazing person."

Naruto blinked at her words before he rubbed the back of his head with a bashful grin. "Didn't think mom would brag about me to people near my age. It's kinda embarrassing, ttebayo…"

Kushina face-palmed this time. "I was _really_ hoping you'd have lost that tic… Anyway, this lovely young lady is Blake Belladonna."

Blake choked on her spit at Kushina's introduction of her, and she saw Yang give her a subtle thumbs-up from the corner of her eye. She then looked back to Naruto and her cheeks dusted slightly at the welcoming grin he gave her and the others.

"Nice to meet you all. You probably already know who I am thanks to mom, but I'll introduce myself anyway." Thumbing his chest, the whiskered blonde declared, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and the current Toad Sage."

The others smiled at his greeting while Kushina clapped her hands together to regain their attention. "Now, I'm sure you all have lots of questions. However, I'd like to take some time to bring my son up to speed with what's been happening and how he got here. So, I'd like to ask the eight of you to let me have the night with him and we'll continue reading tomorrow. That sound okay?"

Naruto rose a brow at the "reading" his mother mentioned, but he stayed silent. He figured it would be just another thing for her to bring him "up to speed" on.

"That sounds fine, Miss Kushina," Ruby replied for the others. "We should probably get some more training done anyways before heading to bed. We'll see you both tomorrow."

Blake looked like she wanted to say something, but she caught a smile from Kushina and backed off. _'I shouldn't be surprised that she would want some time alone with Naruto right away. Stil_ _l…I was hoping I could talk to him too…'_

With the agreement made, RWBY and JNPR left the room and headed for some training fields while Kushina grabbed the book and led Naruto to the dorm Ozpin had offered her. She led him on a small tour of Beacon Academy and let him see the new world he was on before letting him get settled in the dorm where they both enjoyed a nice ramen dinner.

"So…what's going on, mom? I'm happy to see you, believe me; but, shouldn't I be going back home?"

Kushina gave her son a soft smile. "I made a deal with the Old Sage concerning myself and you, Naruto. I missed so much of your life and I've regretted not being there for you more than I was allowed to because of the Eight Trigrams Seal."

"Mom… You can't blame yourself for that…" Naruto said, hoping to absolve her of her own guilt.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't be selfish for once. So, I asked the Old Sage to give me another chance to live as your mother. He made a deal with me, giving me that chance under a couple of conditions. The first is that we couldn't be in the Elemental Nations for it to happen."

"Wait, what?!"

She raised both hands to stop any further outbursts. "Relax. I know that you're still worried about your friends and I'm not selfish to fully take you from them. So, I asked the Old Man to make a genuine copy of you for me to summon. You and the _you_ back home are exactly the same; right down to your memories and abilities. This way you won't have to leave your friends alone."

"…Not gonna lie, mom; that sounds pretty twisted."

She gave a sheepish chuckle. "I thought you'd say that, ttebane…"

"What about Kurama and the other Bijuu?"

"Think back, Naruto. What happened in that vision you had with the Old Sage?"

He blinked at the question before he thought back to the talk he and Hagoromo shared. "He said that someone was hoping to see me; that someone being you. He also said that I wouldn't need to worry and that I'd have a chance that less than a handful have gotten."

"A second chance," Kushina elaborated. "In this case, a second chance to live a life the way you truly wish to live; one without the pressures of prophecies or past lives."

"I remember Kurama telling me to listen to Grandpa Sage…and then this feeling of being pulled in two directions." He blinked in realization. "That's when the copying process happened, isn't it?" At her nod, he continued, "Kurama looked like he was struggling with something while it was happening…"

Taking a moment, he looked within the personal plane of his seal while Kushina sat patiently and waited.

After a moment, his focus returned to the outside world with a look of surprise. "Kurama was copied too?"

"Close. He was split into two halves again. You have the Yin half while your other self, much like for most of your life, holds the Yang half. Don't worry, though. Both halves have a piece of the other so that they can regain their full power after some time. You should be able to speed it up by gathering Nature Chakra."

He finally relaxed in his seat at that. "This is unbelievable… But, I can't be upset with it after seeing it for myself." Taking a breath, he gave his mother a smile and finished, "Thanks for making sure my friends wouldn't lose me."

"Of course. Like I said, I made a selfish wish; but, I'm not selfish enough to strip you from them. Are you sure you're okay with this, though?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I just hope that Other Me gets a chance to talk with Hinata. I never got a chance after everything that happened."

"…You're _sure_ you will be okay with leaving her?" Kushina stressed, now feeling incredibly guilty.

"So long as she's happy, I'll be fine. Besides, Other Me is still there." His smile remained, strong as ever. "I'll be fine, mom; promise."

She let out a relieved breath. "Good. I was worried I might've crossed some personal lines."

"Relax, mom. I'm not mad. I'm honestly happy to be here with you. So, let's drop the subject and get back to what's been going on since YOU got here."

"Oh! Right! The others and I have been reading a book about _another_ version of you; this one from an alternate timeline."

That alone told Naruto he was in for a _long_ night.

* * *

The following morning had Naruto sitting at the table in Kushina's room, reading the fifth chapter of the book concerning his alternate self. Once he finished the chapter, he set the book down and sighed. "This is a lot to take in, even if it's just a story version of me."

"Trust me, you're not the only one who's been impacted by this. Poor Ruby…" She shook her head sadly. "She had to witness her mother's death, despite it possibly being different than what really happened. That kind of trauma could break a weaker person."

"Why are you still having them read this, then?"

"It's what I need to do if I want to stay in this world and have you with me," she explained. "I read this book with them, acting as a link between their world and ours. Once the story ends, I'm free to live here."

"Have you told them?"

"No, but I will. They deserve that much."

"Yeah, they do. It almost sounded like you were using them for a moment."

"I know that; but I wanted to wait until you were here with me to tell them. It was selfish, I know; but you already know how I feel about what happened."

He nodded in understanding. "Just make sure to tell them everything. I'm going to go explore this Academy some more. I'll meet you with the others in a couple of hours."

"Alright, but don't go too far or get into trouble. And don't say you won't, because you and I _both_ know that Uzumaki don't find trouble; it finds _us_."

He cringed at the truthful statement. "Yeah… I'll be careful," he promised before he left the room, stepping out just in time to see Blake leaving her room. "Morning," he greeted.

She jumped at his voice, turning to face him. "Oh, good morning. Did Miss Kushina tell you everything she needed to?"

"For the most part. She has something to tell you and the others concerning _how_ I was brought here. I'm going to explore this place a bit more before meeting you all later."

She hummed in understanding before an idea struck her. "Why don't I show you around? You can tell me what's going on while we walk."

"I appreciate the offer, but this is _really_ something that mom should tell you guys herself. But, I wouldn't mind us hanging out some other time. We could talk about what growing up was like with our personal stigmas."

Blake tensed at that. "…You read the book," she noted.

"Only as far as you did. I have to say, Faunus being treated like that gets under my skin. I know what blatant hatred feels like, and I can't stand seeing someone else going through that too." He chuckled bitterly. "Guess you could say that I have an instinctive protectiveness for people similar to myself, y'know?"

"I think that's just another thing that proves you're a good person, Naruto," Blake replied, giving him a small smile. "It's one thing to hear or read about it; but, it's definitely more noticeable to see it for myself."

This time, he chuckled sheepishly. "I think you're praising me too much, to be honest. But thanks for the nice words. I'll see you later, yeah?"

With that, he gave her a wave and walked off, leaving her alone in the corridor. Or, she _would've_ been if she didn't hear her dorm's door crack open.

"Seriously, Yang?" she accused, feeling embarrassed.

Fully opening the door, the grinning blonde revealed herself and their other teammates; much to Blake's ire. "So, how's it feel to talk with Foxy, Kitten?"

Her bow hiding her Fanus ears twitched. "Don't push me, Yang. Remember: I know where you sleep…and we have _plenty_ of things to clip with."

That shut up the tallest girl of the group. Meanwhile, the youngest gave an apologetic look to Blake. "Sorry for eavesdropping…"

"Forget it," Blake sighed out, shaking her head at their antics. She then looked to her white-themed teammate. "Something you want to say before we continue with our day, Weiss?"

Feeling put on the spot, the Schnee heiress coughed in hopes of removing any awkward tension. "Well…it looks like he's interested in spending more time with you. Maybe you could expand on that…?"

"Right… Ugh, why am I in this kind of situation?"

* * *

A couple of hours later saw Naruto arriving in the room the others had used for the first chapters of the book. To his relief, he didn't sense any negative feelings or tension in the air upon arrival. "Everything out in the open?" he asked, earning a nod from Kushina. "And how do you all feel about things?"

"I can't say I blame her," Yang spoke up first. "She wanted to see you and feels responsible for something out of her control."

"While I'm not happy to hear that her reasons were under a selfish undertone," Weiss began, "I can't hold it against her."

"Family will do reckless things for one another," Ren spoke up. "It's been proven time and again."

"If I were in her position, I'd most likely do the same thing," Pyrrha agreed. "There's nothing to be upset over."

"Yeah! Besides, this way we get to meet you, too!" Ruby exclaimed as Nora nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about us holding anything against your mom," Jaune added. "We're all in agreement on this."

Naruto smiled at their words before turning to Blake. "And you?"

Looking him in the eye, she gave a faint smile. "This is something I think can help us connect better as both teams and friends. Besides, you and your mother are interesting people with outside perspectives. It'd be good to hear your opinions on certain things."

He gave a relieved sigh at that. "Good. Glad to hear that. So, why don't I read this next chapter?"

The others agreed and Naruto took the empty seat; one that was conveniently placed between Blake and Kushina. Yang winked at her partner mischievously as her fellow blonde sat down. She also expertly ignored the annoyed look as Naruto started to read.

* * *

 ** _Sackcloth and Ashes_**

 ** _Chapter Six: Where I Stand_**

* * *

 **A pair of white eyes stared across the room, narrowing slightly at the sight of a familiar blonde twitching in his sleep, muttering denials and pleas while sweat falls down his face.**

"Seeing myself like this really drives home how close Sasuke was to beating me…" Naruto muttered.

"At least he didn't, though," Ruby spoke up to cheer him up. "You were able to get him to see reason."

He smiled at that. "Thanks, Little Red."

 **Neo slowly got out of her bed and silently moved towards Naruto's bed, noting just how tightly his left hand was gripping the bedsheet. Absently, she noted that his mechanical arm was detached from his body and laying on the desk near his bed.**

"Hey, I just realized that you still have two arms," Jaune noted.

"It's not my real arm," Naruto shot down. "It was made with the cells of Lord First gathered from what we could of the White Zetsu Army."

Only Kushina knew what he was talking about, the others giving him confused stares.

"Uh… I'll just tell you guys about it later…"

 **She placed her hand gently on his crippled arm, gripping it firmly while her eyes remained their white shade. With her free hand, she reached over and cupped his cheek, softly rubbing where his whisker markings were. It seemed to help, for his twitches slowed to a stop while his mutters quieted down.**

"Your whiskers aren't really that sensitive…right, Foxy?" Yang asked, her grin growing as Naruto's cheeks turned red.

"Yang, no tormenting my son," Kushina cut in, earning a relieved look from Naruto. She then matched Yang's grin and added, "Not unless I'm there, at least."

"Deal!/MOM?!" both blondes replied.

 **His head turned to hers, eyes opened and unfocused; showing he was still trying to get out of whatever nightmare he was having. "Don't go…" he whispered, his tone pleading; begging whoever he was seeing to adhere to his words.**

 **Seeing this, and hearing the desperation in his voice, struck the petite woman hard. Her gaze softened as the hand on his cheek kept rubbing his whiskers softly. Making a decision, she climbed into his bed and laid down against him, her head resting against his chest as she whispered back, "I won't…" Slowly, his calming heartbeat lulled her back to sleep, and she held onto him tightly in hopes he would sleep peacefully.**

"I hope this Neo girl is like this for real," Naruto mused.

"Actually…" Ruby awkwardly began.

"We don't know for certain," Weiss continued. "She fought Yang a while back, showing she was working with Torchwick for real."

"I see… Maybe I can get through to her like in this story," the Uzumaki proposed before going back to reading.

 **Unknown to her, a pair of narrowed amber eyes glowed in the darkness of the room as the owner witnessed the sentimental moment.**

"Jealousy is an ugly bitch."

"Yang!"

* * *

 **A couple hours later, Naruto began to stir; which Neo felt due to his chest rumbling slightly. While she enjoyed the warmth he gave off, she let go of the blonde and got off his bed. Grabbing her school uniform – something she found to be very bland – she headed for the bathroom to shower and change.**

"Ugh… Those clothes really take away individuality, ttebane…" Kushina groused.

 **Blue eyes blinked open, getting focused on their surroundings before Naruto sighed softly. "Another one…" he mumbled.**

 **"If you have trouble sleeping," he heard Cinder speak up, making him turn to see her adjusting her own uniform, "you can always talk to us about it. You can confide in us, Naruto. After all," she looked to him with her signature smirk, "we're legitimate teammates now."**

"I know she's up to something. The other me knows she's up to something. I just don't know why I haven't done anything about it…"

"Maybe you're waiting for a better moment?" Blake asked.

"Nah, I wasn't really much for planning. Most of my fights had me come up with crazy ideas in the heat of the moment. Shikamaru was the real brains among the Leaf 12…"

 **He gave a small hum at her words while Emerald yawned awake. "Damn, how long was I out?" she groused.**

 **"About six hours," Cinder answered. "You fell asleep before I did."**

 **"How the hell are you so… _up_ in the mornings?"**

 **"Years of practice," was the slightly cheeky response.**

"It really is," Weiss agreed, earning bland looks from the other women. The three men shrugged at that.

 **Naruto got out of his own bed, slightly surprising the girls when they noticed he was only wearing a black nightshirt and some green boxers with pink hearts. He saw their stares and looked down at his sleepwear before shrugging casually. "This is what I sleep in," he defended plainly.**

Naruto's cheeks became inflamed at the looks the others were giving him.

 **"Duly noted," Emerald replied awkwardly, mentally warring with herself. A large part of her still held a grudge against him, but a small part thought that he was attractive.**

Blake's amber eyes narrowed at the image of the red-eyed greenette.

 **"Nice hearts," Cinder complimented teasingly.**

 **He ignored it as he grabbed his new school uniform, making a face at how boring it looked. "…We don't _really_ have to wear this every day, do we?"**

 **"Unfortunately, yes. It's school clothing, and while we're here, we will follow the school guidelines so that we don't draw attention to ourselves."**

 **"I'm wondering why Ozpin seems to know you," Naruto commented, making her raise a slender brow. "During the team assignments, he seemed kinda reluctant to name us a team."**

"If he already knows about Cinder, why's he letting her stay so close to his students? That just gives her more potential hostages…or casualties," Naruto grumbled, earning concerned looks from the others.

"He's got a point…" Nora muttered.

 **"We have different viewpoints and methods on bringing about change to Remnant," she answered smoothly. "He takes his own path while I forge my own."**

 **"…He also spoke to me before we were launched into that forest."**

 **"Oh? And what did he have to say?"**

 **Frowning, the whiskered blonde answered, "He wished me good luck and reminded me how partners were chosen."**

 **"Nothing else?"**

 **"Nope. My guess is that he has suspicions about me already knowing you and he was getting his own _first impression_."**

"Wonder how that went," Blake sarcastically mused.

 **"That sounds like him," Emerald spoke up, sharing a look with her boss.**

 **"Yes, it does. Be careful around that man, Naruto. He thinks he knows many things; but he's actually pretty narrow-minded."**

"It's people like that who can hinder growth or potential," Kushina noted.

 **"Yeah, I think I saw what you mean," he agreed, mentally thinking back on Raven's warning to him about Ozpin.**

"Still surprised you got my mom to see reason, Foxy…"

"I've been told by many people that I have this…way of connecting with others. I guess that meeting with Raven took that literally in a spiritual sense."

 **Neo cut into their chat by stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in her uniform and looking pouty. She shared a look with Naruto, tugging at her red ribbon while her eyes turned brown.**

 **"Yeah, I know," Naruto sighed out in agreement, sending another dirty look at his own uniform before going into the restroom to change.**

* * *

 **Naruto was officially bored out of his mind as the _portly_ Professor Port**

Yang snickered at that. "I gotta remember that one…"

"I'm shockingly surprised you haven't made that joke before," Weiss responded.

 **went on a tangent about his youth; throwing in his own extravagance to his tales. The blonde Uzumaki could tell right off the bat that the man was full or crap; but he said nothing.**

 **Instead, he gave a soft groan and leaned back in his seat. Looking to his right, he saw that Neo was passing time by doodling in her notebook; her drawings consisting of Grimm from her own imagination. He had to smirk at the incredibly detailed drawing of a foxlike Grimm with nine tails.**

Naruto chuckled at Neo's drawing. "It looks like Kurama."

 _[Not a bad representation of me,]_ Kurama agreed from Naruto's mind.

 _'Hey, buddy! Was wondering when I'd hear from ya!'_

 _[I was resting from the split. Anyway, you'd better get back to reading. The others look a bit worried.]_

Mentally nodding, Naruto decided to stop anymore awkward moments and summoned a Shadow Clone before having it take the form of a dog-sized fox with nine tails. He then let Kurama take control of the transformed clone. "How's that?"

The smaller Bijuu took a look a himself before he grunted. [It'll do, I guess.]

The others, save for Kushina, recoiled in surprise at the talking fox. It was Ruby who spoke up first. "Uh… Kurama, right?"

[Got it in one, shrimp.]

"Be nice, buddy," Naruto admonished with a chuckle. "She's the youngest one here, so she still has time to grow bigger."

[I suppose she could _grow bigger_ , but what about getting _taller_?] he fired back with a fanged grin, making both Naruto and Ruby turn bright red.

"You know what I meant, ya damn fuzzball!" Naruto shouted before he went back to the book to kill the awkwardness.

 ** _'Gee, I wonder where she got the idea for_ that _one?'_ he mused sarcastically, chuckling to himself.**

 **Neo heard him and smirked before resuming her shading. Next to her, Cinder raised a brow at the closeness between them, as well as the Grimm her subordinate was drawing. It was much too detailed to be a whimsical idea; which could only mean that the multi-tailed fox was connected to Naruto in some manner.**

"Oh no! Their bonding is showing her the truth!" Nora dramatically cried out before nudging Ren. He sighed at that and had his Scroll play a " _Dun Dun Dun!_ " sound effect.

 **Emerald, who sat next to Cinder, was passing time thinking of clever ways to pickpocket the other students without getting caught. Old habits die hard, and each new method added some restrictions or _rules_ she had to follow. It was a good way to mentally test herself.**

Naruto blinked at that before he looked to the others. He made a thinking face before he felt someone flick the side of his head.

"No," Blake shot down.

"Aw, c'mon! It would've been in good fun!" he tried to reason with her, but she just gave him a firm look.

"No," she repeated, making him slump in his seat with a pout.

Yang fought a snicker at that, sharing a look and grin with Kushina.

 **"Now, who here among you shares those qualities?" Port called out, referring to the qualities that professional Huntsmen and Huntresses need to have; at least in his opinion.**

 **He eyed the room, spotting the young Schnee heiress looking eager to prove herself; as well as a couple others.**

Weiss gave Ruby a look at that, and RWBY's leader gave her an apologetic one in response. "I'm sorry for my attitude before, Ruby," the heiress said, surprising the young Huntress.

She then smiled brightly and replied, "No worries, Weiss."

 **However, he and the other members of the staff had been told of a certain Freshman who had caught the eye of certain unsavory parties. As such, they had been asked to keep a closer eye on him, and what better way than volunteering him for a demonstration?**

"Super," Naruto noted sarcastically. "Now, I'm under suspicion of the entire staff…"

 **"Mr. Uzumaki," he stated, making the blonde turn his blue eyes to the man. "Perhaps you'd like to show your mettle? After all, if you could survive a loss of limb, a simple demonstration should be a breeze, yes?"**

 **Naruto narrowed his eyes in annoyance, already figuring out what the man wanted; or at least, what he was _asked_ to do. With a sigh, he got out of his seat and walked down the steps, hands in his pockets and posture slouched like a certain lazy genius he knew.**

"Troublesome," Naruto groused with a smirk, making Kushina's brow twitch while the others fought snickers.

 **"Fine," he replied, sounding just as bored as Shikamaru always did. He stood next to Port and faced the class, letting them all see what he thought of this situation.**

 **To his amusement, he saw that the white-haired girl he bumped into the other morning looked downright pissed at his boredom. Some students looked confused at his posture while others looked concerned, focusing on his replacement arm. The other members of Team RWBY, Pyrrha, and his own teammates looked confident in his abilities; especially his team.**

 **"Are you ready?" Port asked preparing to open an enclosed cage that was shaking violently.**

 **"Let's get on with it," Naruto answered, taking a relaxed stance. He fought a snort at the concern on the teacher's face, ignoring it in favor of the Boarbatusk that was released. It gave angered snorts and jerked around, turning its fierce gaze to everyone else in the room. "Oi," he called, earning its attention. "Focus right here, Porky. Forget about them and focus on me."**

"Why do you think the Grimm seem to ignore you?" Ren asked Naruto.

"My guess? It's my link to Yang Chakra; otherwise known as Light Chakra. It's Life in an energized form, and the Grimm seem to focus on artificial things," he answered.

 **The students were surprised at this, wondering why he was calling out the Grimm. But, what confused them further, was how the Boarbatusk looked confounded and stayed in place; simply eyeing the blonde before it.**

 **"Well?" Naruto taunted. "You gonna just stand there?"**

* * *

 ** _"Or are you gonna show me what you got?"_**

"Not sure it's a good idea to call her out," Blake mused.

"It's the only way I could know who I'm dealing with, considering how my other self is being watched by Ozpin and his group."

 **The dark woman from before smirked at the words she heard through one of her Grimm. Closing her eyes, she focused on its senses and got her first real glimpse of the mysterious newcomer.**

 **"My, my…" she mused, a smirk forming on her lips. "He looks so young; but that power he has – that radiance – is intriguing. Very well then, Newcomer." Her eyes gave a brief glow as she mentally told the Grimm to attack. "Show me what _you_ have."**

"Challenge accepted," Ruby translated.

* * *

 **The Grimm gave a battle cry and tucked in on itself, spinning in place to gain momentum before shooting forward at high velocity. Blue eyes gleamed faintly and a smirk formed on Naruto's lips as he muttered, "Good…"**

 **Only Blake, due to her feline ears, was able to hear him. She frowned at him, wondering why in the world he was so eager to have the Grimm fight.**

 **The whole room saw him stay in place, still looking relaxed and calm; which made the students either think he was crazy or overconfident.**

"No," Pyrrha spoke up, studying the other Naruto's stance. "It's not overconfidence; it's sheer belief that there's no danger. It's almost like a Master staring down a fresh student."

 **So, it shocked them all when he casually raised his right leg and caught the spinning Grimm with the bottom of his sandal; the only change he made to his uniform. Eyes widened one by one, and jaws were dropping when they saw him tense his leg and force it down, having the Boarbatusk dig into the floor and bury itself enough to become stuck.**

 **Seeing it immobilized, Naruto nodded to himself and stepped back as he said to himself, "But, not good enough."**

"How tough is that golden energy, anyway?" Jaune asked.

"Well," Naruto began, looking unsure, "Grandpa Sage said that my chakra is now that color ever since I unlocked Six Paths Sage Mode; which is, more or less, a divine state…"

Yang jerked back at that before leaning forward. "Hold up! Doesn't that mean that you technically have godlike power?"

"…Maybe?" Naruto answered sheepishly.

"Alright, let's get back to the story before we lose track," Kushina cut in.

 **Blake, once again, was the only one who heard him. She was just as surprised as the others at how easy he made it look to take down the Grimm. But, shock gave way for a small smile; showing that she was proud of her fellow Faunus and his display of raw strength.**

"I hope it's okay if I view myself as a Faunus in this," Naruto said to Blake. "I mean, I do have an animal trait that's genetic; and my Sage Mode is linked to toads."

She gave him an assuring smile. "It's okay. I can understand why you would feel that way, and I appreciate you asking my opinion on it."

He smiled back and went back to the book, missing her faint blush.

 ** _'You're crazy, Naruto… But, you have the power to back it up; no doubt about that.'_**

 **Turning his focus to the Professor, Naruto asked, "How's that?"**

 **"The Grimm is still alive," Port pointed out, bringing attention back to the creature that was left unable to move; only twitch in agitation.**

 **"It isn't going anywhere," Naruto rebutted, casually heading back to his seat. "Besides, the Grimm aren't the biggest threat out there."**

"Humans and Faunus are more of a threat to themselves than the Grimm can be," Kushina noted with a frown. "Grimm can grow, but they're still relatively predictable. Humans and Faunus can be so unpredictable that it's scary…"

The Remnant residents looked to one another at her words while Naruto had his eyes closed and agreed with his mother.

 **That statement unnerved the students, and a select few understood what his words meant. Cinder couldn't help but smirk at that, finding the irony in his statement to be amusing.**

 **"Even so, the Grimm are dangerous, and one shouldn't hesitate," Port drew his weapon, shifted it into its firearm mode, and shot the Boarbatusk, "to take them out."**

 **Naruto turned back to the wisps of the killed Grimm before he shook his head in disappointment. "An outdated way of thinking, if you ask me."**

 **"I beg your pardon?" Port's eyes narrowed, though it was hard to tell since they were practically closed all the time.**

 **"Nothing," Naruto retracted, his voice firmer than before. "Forget I said anything."**

 **The class after his demonstration had an uneasy tension for its remainder.**

"I can only imagine," Weiss commented softly.

* * *

 **"So, what did you mean earlier?" Blake asked Naruto as she sat at his table during lunch. Her teammates were sharing a table with Team JNPR, and the rest of Team FUNS were obviously seated where he was.**

 **"About…?"**

 **"About killing Grimm being _outdated_ ," she clarified.**

"Is it really outdated if we're still doing it after so many years?" Pyrrha asked.

 **"Oh, that…" He went silent for a moment, and she assumed he was collecting his thoughts. "Not many people understand just _what_ the Grimm are. They see the Grimm only as a _darkness_ that seeks to kill anything _good_ or _just_." He shook his head at that, scoffing at the notion. "I see the Grimm differently, and I blame the rest of the world – and their outdated ideals – for their existence in the first place."**

"I…can agree with my other's words, actually," Naruto admitted.

 **His teammates found his explanation odd, which was why they stayed silent to listen. Blake wasn't so silent as she asked, "Why do you blame everyone else? What could you possibly see the Grimm as other than what we've believed for years?"**

 **"I see them as part of a whole," he answered cryptically, staring her dead in her amber orbs and making her fight a flinch at their intensity.**

"No offense, but you _do_ have intense eyes if you look at a person a certain way," Jaune spoke up.

"I've always had trouble hiding what I was feeling. I could make a believable face; but my eyes always told the real story."

 **"Remnant, the world we all live in, is like a body. The earth and waters of the world are its bones and veins, while the life it holds – from plants to living, breathing things – are its blood."**

 **She blinked at this before slowly, unsurely nodding. "…Okay…"**

 **"At times, a body becomes sick, and it starts to repair itself on its own; like antibodies attacking a virus. So, take a moment to think, Blake." His expression was serious, and she couldn't help but see how his eyes took on the world with a focus much older than his age entailed.**

"Surviving a war will do that to you," Kushina informed, and Naruto nodded sadly in agreement.

 **"If _life_ and _nature_ are the blood of Remnant, what do you call the Four Kingdoms and their senseless disregard for forests and other natural wildlands just to expand their own habitats?"**

 **"…You're talking as if Humans and Faunus are nothing more than beasts," she noted, her eyes narrowed.**

 **"Not beasts, Blake; a virus."**

"That sounds almost exactly how my mom described them in this story," Yang stated, looking to her fellow blonde.

"In a way…she isn't wrong," Naruto admitted.

 **Cinder raised a brow at this, interested in how he came to that conclusion. Emerald found herself uneasy with the notion, part of her unable to fully disagree with the whiskered blonde. And Neo frowned thoughtfully, her eyes both turning brown as she considered his words.**

 **As for Blake, her eyes gave an enraged glow. "How could you think that?"**

 **"Because the Grimm only attack things that are manmade," he calmly answered, stifling her growing rage.**

RWBY and JNPR stiffened in realization.

 **"Take a moment to consider it without the ideals and beliefs of others before you clouding _your_ judgment. Have the Grimm ever attacked wildlife? Have they ever deprived the forests of their trees, or drained the rivers dry? Have they burrowed into the earth, taking things that don't belong to them?"**

 **"B-But they-"**

 **"Blake," he cut off sternly, the blues of his eyes taking a glacial edge. "Think for yourself for once. Don't let others dictate your own opinions."**

Blake flinched at that, remembering the times she got swept up in the ideals of crowds other then her personal ones.

 **He dropped his voice for her sake as he added, "You wanted to change your ways, right?" Her eyes widened and she nearly recoiled at his words. " _Change_ starts with yourself; not with the teachings of others."**

"That's something you all should take to heart," Kushina stated to the Beacon students. "You don't truly change unless you're changing yourself first. If someone instructs you on how to _change_ , then it's not a genuine effort and has little value to yourself as a person."

They looked thoughtful at that as Naruto resumed reading.

 **Amber eyes looked down at that, staring at nothing as she thought about what he had said. It was a lot to take in.**

 **"Stop that, please! That hurts!" a female voice, one that held a distinct accent to it, cried out.**

Broken from their thoughts, both teams narrowed their eyes at this memory of abuse against a friend of theirs.

 **The voice broke Blake out of her thoughts and she, along with many others, turned to see a Faunus girl with rabbit ears having one of said ears being cruelly clutched and tugged by an arrogant looking teen. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she recognized him from the day of team placements. He was Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL and a human who wasn't afraid to speak his mind about his dislike of Faunus.**

 **"As I said," Blake heard Naruto speak again, turning to see him staring blankly at Cardin's bullying of the Faunus girl, "outdated ideals and beliefs."**

"If it takes years to stop senseless prejudice and hatred, then that sort of thinking _needs_ to be outdated," Naruto added, frowning at what was happening.

 **Calmly, he stood up from his seat and began to stalk towards the jerk.**

 **"Naruto," Cinder called, making him look over his shoulder with a raised brow. Smirking, she bid, "Make a statement, would you?"**

 **For once, he shared her smirk and nodded before resuming his path.**

 **"I told you it was real!" Cardin boasted with a laugh, tugging Velvet Scarlatina's ear once again. "What a freak!"**

Blake, Kushina, and Naruto all narrowed their eyes at the insult.

 **His teammates laughed alongside him while Velvet once again pleaded for Cardin to let go of her ear. Mentally, she was pleading for someone to help her while also angrily wondering why _none_ of the staff were stepping in. Wasn't Beacon supposed to be a school that was open to _everyone_?**

"She's got a point…" Ruby agreed with a wince, wondering why nobody on Beacon's staff stepped in to stop Cardin.

 **Her pleas were answered when a metal hand gripped Cardin's arm, the clawed digits poking dangerously against the bully's skin. "That'll be enough of that," she heard a male voice speak calmly, and she turned as much as she could to see a blonde teen with incredibly deep blue eyes that were narrowed on Cardin.**

 **"Oh yeah?" taunted Cardin while his teammates got ready to assist him. "Who says?"**

 **"The guy who's about to snap your arm like a twig," Naruto answered coolly, leaking his chakra slightly to enhance his presence while putting some pressure on the arm in his mechanical hand.**

"Intimidation can work wonders if used properly," Kushina informed. "If abused, though, it can be seen as cruelty."

 **Fighting a wince, Cardin held firm onto Velvet's ear. "I'd like to see you- AGH!"**

 **He gave a shout of surprise and pain as the grip on his arm tightened and the metal claws dug into is skin enough to draw blood. The force of the grip also made Cardin release _his_ grip on Velvet's ear. "Try?" finished the Uzumaki. "I just did, and you know what?" He dragged Cardin towards him, glaring him in the eyes while his blues turned amber with horizontal pupils. "I'd say I'm close to succeeding," the pressure on Cardin's arm increased, forcing him to his knees, "wouldn't you?"**

 **His teammates made to help him, but a stern voice clearing her throat had them all turn to see Glynda standing there with her arms crossed.**

"Funny how she shows up _now_ ," Naruto mused with a frown.

 **"I believe that fighting is prohibited in the lunch halls, correct?"**

 **Letting go of Cardin's arm and retracting his claws, Naruto answered, "Yeah, you are. Though, I wonder where you were earlier, _Professor_?"**

 **She narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating his tone. "And what do you mean by _that_ , Mr. Uzumaki?"**

 **"Just being a curious student is all," he shrugged before heading back to his table.**

 **"I'll see you _and_ Mr. Winchester in detention after classes, Mr. Uzumaki."**

"Why is he being punished when he was helping out Velvet?" Yang asked angrily.

"He was still hurting another student," Weiss explained with a frown. "Even if Cardin deserved it, it could still be classified as assault."

"That's bullshit…"

 **He merely waved her off with his natural arm, leaving the lunch hall shocked at his blatant disrespect for the woman. His teammates, however, found the whole moment hilarious; the three women all smirking at how the blonde ninja got under Glynda's skin. As for Blake, she sent a silent thanks to Naruto for helping a fellow Faunus; though, a part of her also wondered what he pointed out.**

 **If someone responded so quickly to a _Human_ in pain, why was no one around when a _Faunus_ was the one in pain?**

* * *

 **"That boy has no respect for authority," Glynda seethed in Ozpin's office, pacing angrily at a certain blonde's words. "Honestly, the nerve of him to call me out on something like this."**

"Why? Because it's true?" Blake asked in annoyance.

[No matter what world, no one likes being called out on their bullshit,] Kurama remarked.

 **"He has every right to speak his mind," Ozpin defended. "Just as you are doing right now, if I might add."**

 **"How can you defend him?"**

 **"Because he made a valid point, Glynda," the Headmaster calmly answered. "Ms. Scarlatina was being unfairly treated by a fellow student in our school grounds, and not one of our staff stepped in to stop that mistreatment. Personally, I find punishing Mr. Uzumaki for helping a fellow student – who is a Faunus just like him – to be a tad unjust."**

"Thank you for the support, even if you don't trust me," Naruto sarcastically remarked.

 **"You can't honestly think that?" she asked in slight surprise.**

 **"Oh, but I do. After all, he was right; no one stepped in to help a Faunus student, but someone did when it was a _H_ _uman_ student. The situation might have just become more sensitive, now that a student has called us out on our practices. We may be seen as prejudicial now, and other Faunus students will no doubt lose faith in the school's ability to offer them equal rights and privileges."**

"So, it's all about image now?" Nora asked angrily.

 **Glynda wanted to argue, but she took a moment to rationally go over the situation. She frowned at the truth, seeing how the impact on the school could be possibly devastating in the long run.**

 **"We need to take steps to reassure our students that they are _all_ equal within Beacon's walls. Otherwise, this situation may spiral out of control," Ozpin grimly declared, earning a stiff nod from his trusted aide.**

 **"Yes, sir."**

"Those actions are meaningless if it takes someone calling them out on them to fix," Pyrrha stated with a frown.

* * *

 **Detention was rather dull, in Naruto's opinion. It was simply him, Cardin, and any other troublemakers sitting in a room silently with Glynda keeping a watchful eye on them. He passed the time by doing the assignments that were given throughout the day, finishing them all rather quickly since it was the first day of school.**

"Schoolwork on Day One? That sucks," Ruby pouted.

 **Once detention was over, the students were allowed to go, and were given a stern warning to behave from now on. "Mr. Uzumaki," Glynda called to him. "A word, please?"**

 **Raising a brow, he sat back down as the other students leave, easily ignoring the smug slash angry look that Cardin sent his way. Once they were alone, he asked, "Am I in more trouble?"**

 **"No," she answered, leaning back against the teacher's desk. "It's come to our attention that we may have been unfair in regards to the situation between you and Mr. Winchester. While he received detention just as you did, you wouldn't have needed such a punishment if someone had stepped in to assist Ms. Scarlatina."**

"So, why have him serve out his detention in the first place?" Jaune asked.

"Because she already issued it in front of so many students," Ren answered.

 **"Uh-huh… And this is your way of apologizing, right?" he questioned, slightly annoyed.**

 **She fought a frown at his tone. "Yes, it is. Beacon is meant to be an open school, and we…failed to fully uphold that declaration."**

 ** _'It is just_ killing _her to admit this,'_ mused the displaced ninja with a mental chuckle. He had a gift for sticking it to the _strict_ types.**

"I wouldn't call that a _gift_ ," Weiss drawled out.

[Anything can be a _gift_ , Snow White,] Kurama fired back cheekily.

 **"As such, we will be sure to do better. I felt that you, as a Faunus looking out for your own, should know that."**

 **He hummed at her words, standing up slowly. "Well…as much as I appreciate the _pretty words_ ," she couldn't stop the frown this time, "I think they're being wasted on me. After all," he made his way out of the room, looking over his shoulder at the exit, "I wasn't the one being mistreated, was I?"**

The Beacons students blinked at his comment before they realized he was right. "I wonder if Velvet was ever reassured that mistreatment would stop," Blake mused.

 **And with that, he was gone, leaving Glynda silently fuming at his nerve.**

* * *

 **Lounging in his team's dorm room, Naruto mused aloud, "I think I may have gotten under that woman's skin…"**

 **"You think?" sarcastically replied Emerald with a smirk. "She looked ready to rip you a new one when you called her out in the cafeteria."**

"Her Semblance would've made that child's play, too," Ren noted, remembering Glynda's telekinetic Semblance.

 **"It's not like what I said wasn't true," he fired back, matching her smirk.**

 **"I'm curious about what you were talking about with that old partner of Adam's," Cinder cut in.**

"Adam is working with Cinder," Blake sadly noted, upset that someone she once trusted fell so low in his hatred.

 **"About Remnant and the Grimm?" She nodded once. "It's something I've been thinking about since I was in Mountain Glenn," he answered honestly, thinking back on the memory of Raven's that he had viewed.**

"You think you could do that with us sometime?" Ruby asked.

"Not sure if that would be a good idea," Naruto confessed. "My memories are a little…intense."

" _Little_ is underselling it, sweetheart," Kushina deadpanned.

 **"That's the _change_ I want to make; to have people make their own damn decisions and see things beyond what people simply tell them."**

 **"Interesting," mused the woman. "That'll be a challenge, no doubt."**

 **"Life is a challenge," he fired back, showing the wisdom he had gained through years of struggle and pain. "The _real_ challenge, though, is standing tall against them; staying true to your own beliefs and ideals. All it takes is guts."**

 **He smiled softly at that, remembering Jiraiya's words to him.**

"Ninja endure," Naruto declared, quoting his deceased master. "It's what makes them strong."

[True. I've seen you ninja go through hell during that last war,] Kurama began, [and you kept getting stronger throughout it all.]

 **"Some ideals can stay strong throughout the years; but if there are those that are just wrong or plain stupid, then they need to be removed so that newer, more open ones can take their place."**

 **"You sound like you've been waiting to say that," Emerald noted with amusement.**

"I have/He has," Naruto and Blake stated, blinking in surprise at their sync before sharing a small smile.

 **"Maybe… But, I know where I stand…"**

"It's always interesting to see a chapter's title as part of the chapter's script," Weiss noted with a smile.

 **He looked to the ceiling of the room, his smile remaining as he thought of every moment his Nindo was put to the test. "And that's with my beliefs; with peace."**

 **Cinder and Emerald blinked in surprise at that, not expecting such an answer. However, having seen enough parts of his life to understand, Neo wasn't surprised and simply smiled softly; mentally promising that she would support him when the time came.**

 **That was where _she_ stood.**

"Aww… Orange Cream!" Yang teased, earning a faint blush from Naruto while Blake glared at her. This only made her grin widen.

Coughing to recompose himself, Naruto stated, "That's the end of this chapter. We can continue it tomorrow after you guys practice."

"Maybe you can help us?" Ruby requested.

"Yeah! Nothing gets you ready for a tournament than fighting a god-level warrior!" Nora declared.

"I'm _not_ a god," Naruto shot down. "I have lots of power, but that doesn't make me a god."

[Many would disagree on that, brat.]

"Yeah well, I didn't ask you, fuzzball…"

"How about we show you around Vale to finish off the day?" Yang suggested. "There's lots to see, and they even have a ramen stand~"

"Ramen?" Naruto perked up, making Kurama palm his muzzle while Kushina snorted in amusement.

"Yep! They give _generous_ portions too!"

"You'd still probably break any records, though," Blake added in amusement.

"Oh, now I _have_ to go," he declared with a grin. "If there's _any_ kind of ramen record, you bet your ass I'll beat it!"

[Seriously? You're almost nineteen and you still are obsessed with those watery noodles?] Kurama snarked.

"Oi! Don't be dissing the food of the gods, jerk!"

"Aha! So, you are a god after all!" Nora declared in triumph.

Naruto sputtered and tried to deny it while the others laughed or chuckled at his expense. Through it all, Kushina smiled softly at her son already bonding with RWBY and JNPR. _'Yes_ … _I'm glad I asked the Old Sage to bring you here, Naruto…'_

* * *

 **And that's that! How's it looking so far?**

 **Naruto's appearance may seem a bit convoluted, but dammit I want him and Blake together! They're such a cute pair!**

 **Of course, Naruto could pair with almost any girl at Beacon. His personality meshes well with lots of different types…**

 **Anyway, I'm getting off track! I'll be updating the source story next! It'll take some time; I won't lie. So, I hope you'll be patient with me until I get it done!**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


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